Classic

While there was a categorical and simple division between slave and free in Athenian law, in social practice the situation was different. It is often impossible to tell whether an individual was free or slave; even more, there are many examples of citizens accused of being slaves. The explanation of this bifurcation between law and reality should be sought in the social content of Athenian citizenship. In Athens the privileges of citizenship extended to the lower classes of peasants, artisans, and shopkeepers. Slaves and freemen exercised the same professions; this overlap made it impossible to differentiate status solely on the basis of profession or living conditions. Thus, many slaves were in a position to take advantage of this blurring of identities to escape detection and create better conditions for themselves.

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In scholarship on Persian book arts, paintings have tended to be organized according to a rise-and-fall model. Within this overarching framework, the Ilkhanid period represents the birth of painting and the Qajar era its supposed decline, while Timurid and Safavid painting mark a high point for the development of pictorial arts in Iran. As a result, scholars have used the term ‘classical’ to describe both Timurid and Safavid painting. The many definitions of ‘classical’ – which alternatively engage with aesthetic criteria, time periods, numerical output, systems of patronage, artistic models, and stylistic imitations – raise a number of significant questions, however. This study highlights the problematic uses of the term in scholarship on Persian manuscript painting. Moreover, by examining a series of interrelated Ilkhanid, Timurid, and Safavid paintings of the Prophet Muhammad in particular, it seeks to explore alternative models for studying the history of Persian manuscript painting, itself too diverse and self-referential to be confined to a linear account.

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Review of a joint exhibition by the Museo del Prado (Madrid) and the Albertinum Museum (Dresden), and curated by Stephan F. Schröder (Madrid) and Moritz Woelk and Kordelia Knoll (Dresden).

Madrid 4 November 2008 - 12 April 2009

The official exhibition site (with many pictures and explanatory texts) is still active: http://www.museodelprado.es/en/exhibitions/exhibitions/at-the-museum/among-gods-and-men/the-exhibition/

250 words (= 1 page Times Roman 12 pitch double-spaced). Abbreviations: List key abbreviations used throughout the text. Remember that these should still be spelt out in full the first time that you use them, with the abbreviation in brackets. Introduction: ~500-750 words (= 2-3 pages Times Roman 12 pitch double-spaced). This should provide a concise and fairly specific background to the project, and the hypothesis / questions specifically being addressed. It should NOT be a full literature review.