Name
KUWABARA, Natsuko
Degree
Ph.D. in History of Art
Status
Assistant Professor
HP (URL)
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Research Topic
Genesis, Development and Function of the Iconographies of the Last Days of the Virgin in the Mediterranean
The theme of the Last Days of the Virgin was a frequent subject of pictorial representation in the Mediterranean area from the ninth century to the end of the fifteenth century, despite the absence of any canonical evidence for Mary’s death and Assumption. As the Council of Ephesus (431) declared the Virgin Mary as Mother of God, her death and posthumous glory became the center of interest among theologians. Subsequently, a large number of Apocrypha were produced – among these, sixty-three texts still survive, but they account for substantially different endings to the Virgin’s story: only her soul was elevated; soul and body were elevated together; soul and body were elevated at two separate moments.
My research aims to clarify the relationship between these texts and the genesis and development of the known iconographies. Furthermore, this study focuses on the function of this theme across the Mediterranean through the understanding of production contexts, and the pictorial programmes of individual case studies.
Monthly Spotlight
[Monthly Spotlight] is focusing on a researcher to introduce his/her research.
Researching paintings in the Mediterranean depicting the last days of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God
Education and Academic Employment
[Academic Career]
2022.4 – present: Assistant Professor, Waseda Institute for Advanced Study
2019.4 – 2022.3: Superlative Postdoctoral Fellow of JSPS, Waseda University
2019.1 – 2019.4: Postdoctoral Fellow, Nederlands Interuniversitair Kunsthistorisch Instituut – NIKI Florence
2016.10 – 2017.6: Student Fellow, Fondazione degli Studi di Storia dell’Arte, Roberto Longhi
2014.9: Summer School Fellow, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz-Max Planck Institut
2013.11 – 2018.3: Università degli Studi di Firenze (Ph.D. in History of Art)
2011.10 – 2012.9: Italian Government Scholarship Student (corsi singoli)
2010.4 – 2013.9: Keio University Graduate School of Letters, Aesthetics and Science of Arts (doctoral program, without degree)
2008.4 – 2010.3: Keio University Graduate School of Letters, Aesthetics and Science of Arts (M.A. in History of Art)
2004.4 – 2008.3 Keio University, Faculty of Letters, Aesthetics and Science of Arts (B.A. in History of Art)
[Teaching Career]
2020.4 – 2020.9: Part Time Lecturer, Aoyama Gakuin University, Faculty of Letters
2019.4 – present: Part Time Lecturer, Keio University, Faculty of Letters
2019.4 – present: Part Time Lecturer, Kyoritsu Women’s University, Faculty of Arts and Letters
Fields of Research Interests
History of Art, Iconography, Cycle of the Last Days of the Virgin Mary, Italy, Medieval Art, Renaissance Art
Academic Publications
- “Sull’iconografia della Storia della Vergine nel ciclo trecentesco di Fossa”, in L. Pezzuto & M. Maccherini, Santa Maria ad Cryptas. Storia, arte, restauri, Roma, 2021, pp. 74-83.
- “A Fundamental Study of Iconography about the Soul of the Virgin and the Sacred Belt”, Journal of the Science of Arts, vol. 23, 2020, 41-60.
- “The Last Days of the Virgin in Santa Maria Rossa in Crescenzago: Its Reception in the Funerary Art”, The Waseda Journal of Art History, 57, 2020, pp. 47-56.
- “Pulpit in the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Muggia Vecchia”, Kajima Bijutsu Kenkyu, vol. 36, 2019, 26-36
- “Ricostruzione dell’episodio di San Giovanni Evangelista sulla parete settentrionale della chiesa di Santa Maria in Sylvis a Sesto al Reghena”, Research Bulletin. Institute of Italian Studies, Waseda University, vol. 8, 2019, 1-24.
- “Giotteschi in Northern Italy: Maestro del Coro Scrovegni and Maestro del Ciclo della Dormitio Virginis di Sesto”, Journal of the Science of Arts, v 21, 2018, pp. 23-37.
- “A Textual Source for the Oldest Cycle of the Last Days of the Virgin: A Wall Painting of the Temple of Fortuna Virile (the Church of Santa Maria di Secundicerio) (Italy, Rome, 872-882)”, Aesthetics, vol. 68, 2017, 25-36.
- “The Iconographic Study of the Last Days of the Virgin along the Northern Wall of the Church of Santa Maria ad Cryptas in Fossa (L’Aquila)”, Bijutsushi, vol. 182, 2017, 201-216.
- “Gli affreschi della fine del Duecento in Santa Maria Rossa di Crescenzago: gli ultimi giorni della Vergine e un’insolita scena di esequie nel presbiterio”, Contesti d’Arte, vol. 1, 2016, pp. 40-55.
- “Dormition in the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Muggia Vecchia: The Reexamination of Its Reception in the Eschatological Context”, Medieval European Studies, vol. 8, 2016, pp. 118-138.
Other Interests
Eating delicious food, travelling, doing hot yoga, soaking in thermal springs, reading books, walking, hiking, doing cardio combat workout, enjoying the beach, playing the piano, watching water birds, going for a picnic
Affiliated Academic Organizations
The Japan Art History Society
The Japanese Society for Aesthetics
Japan Society for Medieval European Studies
Collegium Mediterranistarum
International Council of Museums Japan
Waseda Society of Art History
Mita Society for Science of Arts
Awards
June 2019: The Prize of Medieval European Studies, Poster Session (by audience)
June 2019: The Article Prize of the Medieval European Studies
January 2019: Premio Tesi Dottorato 2018 by Firenze University Press (second prize)
May 2018: Bijutsushi Article Prize
