Disaster! Trouble in Eighteenth-Century Art

In 1748 François-Vincent Toussaint advised the readers of his Les Mœrs... “Affect not an air of content before an afflicted person, who is lamenting over his disasters or losses. You may grieve in private for your own misfortunes: but do not go to fatigue, with your sad lamentations.” The long eighteenth century was rife with lamentable events, both big and small. The global population reckoned with violent rebellions, inter- and intra-national armed conflicts, natural disasters, shipwrecks, epidemics, fires. Problems on a more personal or minor scale could cause big trouble as well: epistolary miscommunication, marital infidelity, business conflict, illness, or household tension, to name a few. This panel seeks papers that examine the ways in which artists depicted or reflected calamities large and small in the global eighteenth century, and contributors who think capaciously about the concept of disaster, considering a broad range of media – painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, printmaking, fiber arts. Especially encouraged are projects with interdisciplinary approaches, and those that consider wide geographical, social, and racial contexts. Proposals from scholars in and outside of academia, and at any stage in their program or career, and artists and curators who have a perspective on the relationship between art and disaster are welcome.