Artistic circulations between East and West: The Council of Basel (1431-1439)

Alix Buisseret

Proposed research topic adopts a European approach to late medieval art by examining how transnational events, such as the Council of Basel (1431–1449), fostered artistic mobility and the circulation of visual models. The Council represents a pivotal moment to understand how styles and iconographic traditions moved beyond regional boundaries, shaped by diplomatic, political, and ecclesiastical exchanges. In my doctoral thesis, I focused on the artistic dynamics surrounding the Council, particularly through the role of Geneva and the court of Savoy under Amadeus VIII, elected as Antipope Felix V in Basel in 1439. I now wish to explore the Eastern embassies—especially Bohemian and Polish—and their involvement in these exchanges. Relations and artistic reception between East and West can be observed, for instance, through two case studies, I aim to investigate further. The first is a prayer book created in Bohemia c. 1440 (Brno, Moravian Library, RKP-0483.661), which reveals the integration of Netherlandish motifs that probably circulated in Basel. The second consists of two theological manuscripts produced in Basel in 1435 for Thomas Strzempino, bishop of Kraków and delegate to the Council (Kraków, Biblioteka Jagiellonska, 1210 and Rkp. 1371 IV). In my thesis, I have attributed the paintings to Péronet Lamy, a painter active in Geneva and for the court of Savoy. The two examples point to the dissemination of Franco-Flemish models and their reception in Central Europe. Through these examples, the project proposes a material study of manuscripts linked to Eastern embassies at the Council of Basel. The aim is to understand how these diplomatic contexts shaped the circulation and interpretation of models. This study would greatly benefit from access to the rich bibliographic resources assembled by the late Jarmila Vacková, particularly regarding Bohemian libraries and the reception of Northern art in 15th-century Central Europe.