Past and Present Representations of Historical Urban Spaces (Middle Ages – Early Modern Times)

All historical representations, comprising maps, drawings, vedute, narrative texts and archival documents, were made for a purpose – and the purpose affected the perception and interpretation of the represented urban space.

The precision of depicting forms and shapes was often undermined in order of representing objectives, concepts, notions, stories or beliefs. Being the only witnesses of the past urban landscapes, these sources are crucial for art historians in their efforts at digital reconstructions of these spaces. The process of retrieving information from the sources necessarily includes the understanding of the form of a studied urban space and the meaning conveyed in its representation.

We would like to discuss the following questions through selected case studies:

· What methods do art historians apply while analysing the sources for creating digital reconstructions?

· What intentions, apart from “resurrecting” the lost forms, do they have?

· How can historical city views and maps be interpreted appropriately?

· What impact do research questions have on the way we interpret and visualise the research results?

· What would be the guidelines for reviewing these new visualisations?

Scientific Organization: Tanja Michalsky and Ana Plosnić Škarić
This event is organized in collaboration with the Institute of Art History, Zagreb

_{Image: Dubrovnik, church of St Blaise, Statue of St Blaise, 15th century, detail (© Institute of Art History, Zagreb, Photographic Collection / photo by Paolo Mofardin)}