session I - The Challenge of Historical Distance

Nederlands Interuniversitair Kunsthistorisch Instituut (NIKI) /
The Netherlands Interuniversity Institute for Art History
Florence, Italy

The Challenge of Historical Distance: Historicism and Anachronism in the Study of Art

A conference in celebration of Prof. Gervase Rosser's Scholarship, organised by Constanza Beltrami, Lia Costiner, Elena Lichmanova & Michael W. Kwakkelstein.
November 6th, 2025

00:00:05 Michael W. Kwakkelstein (NIKI/Utrecht University) Director’s Welcome
00:04:43 Lia Costiner (Utrecht University) and Elena Lichmanova (University of Oxford & British Library) Introduction to the Conference

Session I - Theories of Time
Chair: Costanza Beltrami (Stockholm University)

00:21:50 Jas Elsner (University of Oxford) Between Historicism and Anachronism: Reflections on an Inescapable Dialectic in Art History
00:45:33 Armin Bergmeier (University of Leipzig) Anachronisms and Epistemological Critique: From Riegl to Critical Heritage Studies
01:10:30 Keith Moxey (Barnard College) Globalization’s Dilemma

Conference abstract
How can art historians explore, understand, or even ‘feel’
the material evidence of the past? How can we approach
the problem of historical distance, of our anachronistic
nostalgia and our intellectual desire for pre-modern periods
and artefacts? Can we inhabit the time of past artworks, or
do artworks constantly re-construct their own times? What
role do contemporary concerns play in our interpretations
of the ancient, medieval, and early modern periods?
Numerous recent publications have explored the study of
the past through different lenses. They have complicated
the idea of ‘historical contexts’ by showing the ability of
artworks to simultaneously refer to various time periods.
They have also encouraged cross-temporal and sometimes
ahistorical interpretations of premodern artefacts in the
light of modern theories and concerns. This conference will
bridge the ‘historicist’ and ‘anachronist’ camp in an attempt
to theorise the thorny issue of time which sits at the core of
both history and art history.
The conference is organised in celebration of the
scholarship of Prof. Gervase Rosser and in honour of his
retirement from the University of Oxford. It particularly
celebrates Prof. Rosser’s prominence as both historian and
art historian and his inspirational interrogation of both
disciplines.