Warburg Work in Progress, Autumn 2024 - Fellows' joint session 3

Giulio Navarra (Ouseley Fellow): ‘Al-Kindī’s Astrological Works in Arabic and Latin’

Al-Kindī (d. c. 870 CE), known as the “Philosopher of the Arabs,” was a pivotal figure in medieval philosophy, influencing intellectual traditions across linguistic boundaries, including Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin. In addition to his philosophical contributions, al-Kindī was a scientist, physician, and polymath who authored works across a broad range of disciplines. He played a significant role in the development of astrology and cosmology in the Latin West under the name “Alkindi” or “Alkindus.” However, numerous works in the field of astrology, often of questionable authenticity, have been attributed to him. This presentation aims to provide a comprehensive inventory of al-Kindī's astrological writings in both Arabic and Latin, with the goal of distinguishing between authentic and spurious works attributed to him.
 

Arianna Brunori (Frances Yates Fellow): ‘Generation and Imitation. The Competition between Alchemists and Visual Artists in Premodern Italy and France’

During the Renaissance, artists, challenging the traditional interpretation of the precept “art imitates nature”, no longer present themselves as mere imitators of Nature, but as its refiners or, in some cases, even masters. Alchemists have always had a similar claim. For this reason, it has often been argued that “alchemists and artists shared the same view of creativity” (S. Butters, The Triumph of Vulcan: Sculptors’ Tools, Porphyry, and the Prince in Ducal Florence, 2 vols., Firenze 1996, vol. I, p. 233). Upon closer analysis, however, the relationship between these figures, during the Renaissance, appears anything but peaceful. If it is true that these figures are often found working within the same courts, united by the interest in certain technical processes relating to the production of pigments, metalworking and precious materials’ imitations manufacture, starting from the late Middle Ages, a real competition pitted alchemists against visual artists and vice versa. My project attempts to reconstruct the varied debate, at the center of which lies the common claim to operate in a manner identical or superior to Nature, involving alchemists and artists in Italy and France, from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The aim is not only to study the network of relationships in which its protagonists are inserted, but to shed light on the shifting distinction between natural and artificial reproduction – namely generation and imitation.

 

The Work in Progress seminar explores the variety of subjects studied and researched at the Warburg Institute. Papers are given by invited international scholars, research fellows studying at the Institute, and third-year PhD students.

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