Baroque ceiling and wall paintings always took into account the function of a room and the status of its users. In doing so, they alluded to the room’s former social dimension and provided contemporaries with guidance on how to understand it. Ceiling and wall paintings hold a special place: They are site-specific and immovable. They are created for a specific room, ceiling, or wall and can only be experienced there in the way the artist and patron intended. This means that the same subject could take on a completely different meaning depending on the room and its occupants. And so, ceiling and wall paintings in rooms that women had decorated for themselves provide insight into their self-perception. Rooms that men had decorated for women can reveal the roles intended for women. The lecture focuses on selected paintings from royal residences, pleasure palaces, and widows’ residences.

About the Speaker: Dr. Heiko Laß studied art history and history in Marburg. A recognized expert on early modern residential culture, he has been a research associate at the Corpus of Baroque Ceiling Paintings in Germany (Bavarian Academy of Sciences) since 2015.

About the lecture series: This public lecture series has been taking place for over 20 years now, featuring scholars from the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities as well as from its seven sister academies. The lectures are aimed at a broad audience to provide insights into the research. Afterward, attendees have the opportunity to engage in conversation with the scholars over pretzels and wine in the Academy’s courtyard garden.

We are grateful that the vhs Heidelberg also promotes this series.

Program "We Research. For You." (internal link)

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