The Instituto Moll Center for Research in Flemish Painting in Spain, along with Leiden University and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, organized an international conference “Magnificence in the 17th Century. Performing Splendour in Catholic and Protestant Contexts” on 7-9 March 2019 in Madrid. The meeting brought together more than 30 researchers from different European universities and institutions.
The conference reflected on the performance of the virtue of magnificence, defined by Aristotle as “a fitting expenditure involving largeness of scale.” The magnificent man had to spend according to the circumstances avoiding the vicious extremes of avarice and extravagance. Performing magnificence, therefore, was extremely difficult and was compared by Aristotle to the artistic process of creating a true work of art.
In eight sessions, focused on ethics, politics, theatre, architecture, court ballet, painting and festivities, the conference participants discussed how this virtue was expressed in 17th century Catholic and Protestant contexts.
For more information, see the program here.