CALL FOR PAPERS

Picturing the Aldilà: Italian Last Judgments Revisited

An in-person session for the 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies, sponsored by the Italian Art Society
University of Western Michigan, May 14–16, 2026
Link: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2026/prelim.cgi/Session/7411

A hallmark of church decoration, visual representations of the Last Judgment have been popular in Italy since the eleventh century. Drawing iconography from the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Revelation, these scenes were often monumental, prompting viewers to reflect on the consequences of their earthly actions in the afterlife. While several such examples have become canonical—including the mosaic on Torcello and Giotto’s fresco in the Arena Chapel in Padua—Last Judgment imagery also appeared in other locations, media, scales, and contexts. 

This session seeks papers that explore representations of the Last Judgment and related eschatological themes in medieval Italian art and architecture. Contributions may investigate unexpected iconographies, offer new thematic readings and approaches, probe the didactic, theological, and political meanings of these works for specific patrons and audiences, or otherwise engage with the creation, existence, and meaning of representations of the Aldilà. Papers that focus on lesser-known regions, various media and materials, and the role of Italian models beyond the peninsula are especially welcome.

Submission Instructions

Submissions should be uploaded through the ICMS’s conference portal on Confex: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2026/prelim.cgi/Session/7411. The deadline for all submissions is September 15, 2025.

Speakers must be members of the Italian Art Society at the time of application to and presentation at the conference. International speakers, BIPOC scholars, and those with financial need may be eligible for IAS Sospeso Memberships. The IAS also offers competitive travel funding for which speakers may be eligible. For more information, or to join/renew, go to: https://www.italianartsociety.org/join/

Questions? Contact the session organizers:
Claire Jensen, University of Toronto, claire.jensen@mail.utoronto.ca
Alison Locke Perchuk, CSU Channel Islands, alison.perchuk@csuci.edu