Monumenta mortis et memoriae. Sepulchral Sculpture in the Visual Arts of the Czech Middle Ages

Provider and number: GAČR, No. 18-06201S

Duration: 2018–2020

Recipient: Institute of Art History, CAS

Principal investigator: Jan Chlíbec

Research team: Jiří Roháček

Sepulchral monuments are of interest for art history, general history and related disciplines. Although the convolute of the studied works in Bohemia are preserved in a fragmented state, the individual works prove the commissioner’s social position, religious faith, cultural level and artistic sense and also the language usage of the era. The project includes all the Czech Middle Ages, dealing with the typological scale of sepulchral sculpture, painting and sculptural works related to it (epitaphs); attention will be paid to the wider sepulchral context - the issue of period funerary ceremonies. The guiding principle is the complexity of the view and the interdisciplinary approach to the material. By its concept and the temporal scope, the project is unique in Czech historical fields. The result will be study of sepulchral sculpture and chiefly a book on the topic. The theme has a significant international aspect - the book will engage in international research on European sepulchral sculpture and acquaint the professional public with hitherto unknown works from this area.

CEP