Abstraction before the Age of Abstract Art

In the winter of 2021, I will be working remotely under Dr. Vincent Debiais at L'École des Hautes Etudes en sciences Sociales in Paris. My internship will be an extension of my work as a research assistant to Dr. Debiais at the Stanford Humanities Center in the winter and spring of 2019. I will be continuing work on his project entitled "Abstraction before the age of Abstract Art". Using theology, anthropology, philosophy, and art history, the project aims to identify and explore the concept of abstraction as it develops and transforms throughout the Middle Ages, specifically exploring abstraction in medieval art. Over the course of the quarter, I will be working with Dr. Debiais daily. With the project in its third year, I will be aiding the creation and production of the project's final publication by generally providing another set of eyes, gathering examples, refining content, and generally preparing texts for the publication. I will also help put together a virtual workshop, run the project's research blog, and create a raw catalogue of objects and images in the Cluny Collection in Paris that will be used in the final publication.