The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut invites scholars to apply for two pre-doctoral fellowships, for 3 months (starting in January 2016 or later). The fellowship is awarded in conjunction with the Minerva Research Group (MRG) "The Nomos of Images. Manifestation and Iconology of Law".

The research project is mainly concerned with formulating an analytical framework for an iconology of law that seeks to explain diachronically -  adopting a transcultural perspective - dimensions of legal history in relation to materiality and constructs. Such juridical manifestations defy the disciplinary boundaries of Art History and Visual Culture in how they relate to form, content and style as well as tradition. Notwithstanding the vast inventory of discrete analyses of legal iconography, no systematic approach exists to date that factors in the relevant domains of legal practice and norm. Broad parameters must yet be fashioned to extend the analysis of the forms, functions, and meanings of these numerous artifacts to their embeddedness in the history of law.

The Minerva Research Project is dedicated to the study of such manifestations as a way to highlight how their forms, meanings and connotations underlie the legitimation of law and legal acts.

Research proposals should fit within the frame of the MRG and can address any cultural context or period. Comparative studies are welcome. Projects should have an art historical component, this may be in art history specifically or cultural studies in general, with relevant disciplinary perspectives including legal history, comparative literature, history of philosophy, political sciences and others. Doctoral candidates must already be registered for PhD studies at their home university.