This collaborative thesis focuses on the extensive collection of works on paper and related objects by Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) held at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG). It is the first academic study to use Brown's works on paper as the basis for discussion. In doing so it seeks to throw light on neglected areas of his work and to highlight the potential of prints and drawings as subjects for scholarly research. The thesis comprises a complete catalogue of the works on paper by Brown held at BMAG and three discursive chapters exploring the strengths of the collection. Chapter one focuses on the significant number of literary and religious works Brown made in Paris between 1841 and 1844 and examines his position in the cross-cultural dialogues taking place in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. Chapter two uses the dual definition of the word 'construction' to examine how his interpretation of history was affected by contemporary changes in historiography, and to discuss his practical approach to composing a history painting. Chapter 3 studies illustrations he made for publication. Progressing chronologically, it explores his changing attitude towards illustration as a medium and argues that these works had increasing importance for his artistic career. The catalogue is the most up-to-date and informative inventory of the collection and includes new identifications, titles and dates and exegeses.

This thesis considers how visual art is expressed within English drama during the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline periods, through studying how portraits are used in performance and narrative. The first part of the thesis, consisting of Chapters One and Two, is concerned with the stage. It explores the range of different functions that a portrait could have in a play, and considers the challenges of bringing these objects onto the stage. The following three chapters make up the second part of the thesis; which shifts focus from the way portraits were used on stage as signifiers, to a consideration of what they signify. Chapter Three explores how characters use portraiture to promote their identity and advertise individuality. It argues for a re-thinking of the significance of ‘life-like’ painting, arguing that portraits can be markers of identity even without necessarily capturing likeness accurately. Chapter Four is about the functions that portraits have as love tokens and within courtship narratives, arguing that they expose the often-flimsy distinction between lust and love. The final chapter addresses the magical and metaphysical aspects of portraiture, and considers their role in witchcraft and murder narratives, but also their metaphorical potential to ‘hold’ the soul of the person that they depict, and therefore function as commemorative objects.

This study explores issues of technique, methodology and style in ethnographic/documentary films, with a focus on Sardinia. How are cultural realities constructed in documentary and ethnographic films? In what ways do practical filmmaking strategies reflect wider epistemological questions and ethical concerns? The thesis examines the general stylistic principles that have guided the making of a substantial body of documentary films about Sardinia. Attention has been paid to a range of different methods used by a select number of documentary and ethnographic filmmakers, covering important theoretical points on the distinctive set of technical, aesthetic and ethical problems embodied in the epistemology of their filmmaking practice. The study concludes that scholars should look for a more balanced fusion between film as a multisensory medium of ideas and forms of ethnographic enquiry conducted through language. The nonverbal elements and visual imagery in ethnographic/documentary films suggest obliquely that a kind of knowledge expressed in the concrete case requires an acknowledgment of domains of experience that often elude written expression.

This thesis explores the representation of negative and subversive aspects of the Royal Navy and its seamen during the French Wars, 1793-1815, in contemporary print culture. Visual analysis, supported by archival research, is used to show that evasion and exaggeration were key in the representation of such subjects. The figure of Jack Tar (the common seaman) and the facets of his service referenced in works on paper are investigated as constructs. It is argued that such historical documents confirmed and perpetuated misconceptions informed by dominant expectations, values and concerns. Such depictions, often satirical, are indicative of broader material and ideological contexts. Issues collectively and individually salient for Britons’ and naval seamen are shown to have included those of identity, liberty, state power, subordination, morality and sacrifice. These are revealed to be central to the construction of the notorious naval tar by printmakers, audiences, writers, publishers, politicians, officers, seamen themselves and even historians. In a chronological narrative from recruitment to cessation of service, the thesis explores the experiences of this infamous naval character through his contemporary representation.

This thesis comprises two research papers. The first is a systematic review which examines the effectiveness of Art Therapy (AT) for people with psychosis, and whether it is a suitable and meaningful intervention to them. A systematic search of the literature resulted in 16 articles which were critically reviewed. There was inconclusive evidence for the efficacy of AT due to the limited and poor quality research. However, AT was considered beneficial and meaningful by people with psychosis and art therapists. The use of AT for this population cannot be discounted though better quality research is needed to guide clinical practice. The second component is an empirical paper that explores the meaning of adaptation to First Episode of Psychosis (FEP), through creating images. Ten participants engaged in an interview where they created an image of their experience. The data were analysed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and image analysis. Adaptation to FEP entailed challenges and growth as participants’ came to terms with FEP, reformed their life and re-evaluated their identity and place in the world. This research adds to the recovery and growth literature and highlights the benefits of visual research methods. Drawings produced powerful data which facilitated understanding of the phenomenon.

The work collected together here examines the distinctive conceptual approaches taken by Renaissance architects, during the period c. 1480-1550, towards the designing of their buildings. It analyses the designs of a wide range of buildings from the period by architects including Raphael, Michelangelo and numerous others. The conclusion reached is that many of these architects adopted approaches based, ultimately, on ways of thinking (about art as well as architecture) that had surfaced in late fifteenth-century Florence; and that their approaches were not just similar in many key regards but also corresponded closely with theories of language and literary imitation being aired at around the same time. The essays also explore how certain differences in approach, especially between Raphael and Michelangelo, were directly paralleled by differences in literary theory. Also proposed is that the design methods formulated specifically by Raphael in the years before his death (1520) became the template for those followed by many subsequent ‘High Renaissance’ architects; and that the architectural term ‘order’, which was coined by Raphael before becoming commonplace in architectural theory, had its origins in literary theory. As for the design methods taken up by Michelangelo, it is argued that these were initially comparable to those followed by Raphael, but that they gradually diverged in a way that was very much in line with his conceptual thinking about sculpture and painting, until they became, at a fundamental theoretical level, incompatible with those of his later contemporaries.

La presente ricerca si propone di ricostruire e di spiegare le ragioni che portarono alla prima rappresentanza pontificia in Messico, le difficoltà incontrate, gli apporti della delegazione apostolica e il suo esito, ma non solo. Lo studio condotto sulla delegazione di Clementi rappresenta anche l’occasione, attraverso il caso messicano, per riflettere e contribuire a fare maggiore chiarezza sui rapporti tra Stato e Chiesa e individuare le ragioni del perché l’equilibrio tra il trono e l’altare venne meno, aprendo così la strada all'avvento delle società secolarizzate in cui oggi viviamo. La delegazione apostolica rappresenta il punto di incontro, il perno che permette di osservare e di far luce sulle dinamiche, le posizioni e i punti di vista di quelli che furono i tre principali attori: la Santa Sede, il governo e il clero messicano. Attraverso lo studio condotto sulla missione di Clementi è possibile meglio comprendere come questi tre soggetti si relazionarono tra di loro e quali furono i problemi delle loro interazioni. Seguendo lo sviluppo e soprattutto i problemi incontrati dalla delegazione apostolica, ci si soffermerà sugli obiettivi della Santa Sede, sulle esigenze e gli interessi che mossero la politica dei governi messicani e su come si collocò, rispetto alla volontà della prima e dei secondi, il clero messicano. / The present research aims to reconstruct and explain the reasons that led to the first papal representation in Mexico, the difficulties encountered, the contributions of the apostolic delegation and its outcome, but not only. The study carried out on the Clementi delegation also represents the occasion, through the Mexican case, to reflect and contribute to clearly explain the relations between State and Church and to identify the reasons why the balance between the throne and the altar lessened, thus paving the way for the advent of the secularized societies in which we live today. The apostolic delegation represents the meeting point, the pivot that allows observing and shedding light on the dynamics, positions and points of view of those who were the three main actors: the Holy See, the Mexican government and the Mexican clergy. Through the study conducted on Clementi's mission it is possible to better understand how these three subjects relate to each other and what were the problems of their interactions. Following the development and above all the problems encountered by the apostolic delegation, we will focus on the objectives of the Holy See, on the needs and interests that moved the policy of the Mexican governments and on how, with respect to the will of the first and second, the Mexican clergy.

Après le séisme qui frappa la région de la République de Raguse en 1667, Dubrovnik (ancienne Raguse), sa ville capitale, connut une forte immigration architecturale d’origine romaine et, dans un seul cas, vénitienne, principalement composée d’ingénieurs et d’architectes. Après avoir tenté de retracer l’histoire des relations artistiques et diplomatiques entre la République de Raguse et les Etats de la péninsule apennine, qui remontent au XIIIe siècle mais qui connurent leur apogée après le grand séisme de 1667, cette étude se penche sur le rôle des architectes étrangers dans le cadre de l'administration publique de la République de Raguse et sur l’impact qu'ils eurent sur l'architecture de la ville. Malgré le fait qu'un bureau officiel des architectes n'existait pas au sein des institutions publiques, nous pouvons retracer les comportements habituels du commanditaire, le Sénat de la République, dans le processus du recrutement des architectes étrangers. Ainsi, les mêmes modèles de coopération entre les architectes et le commanditaire, répétés au cours des siècles, témoignent d'un système stable, traditionnel, qui resta inchangé jusqu'à la fin de la République en 1808. Dans cette recherche, l’accent a été mis sur l'architecture représentative de la ville de Raguse ainsi que sur tous les chantiers qui étaient sous le contrôle de la République. Enfin, les migrations artistiques entre Rome et Raguse durant la deuxième moitié du seicento et pendant le settecento furent mises en parallèle en suivant le même phénomène qui eut lieu dans la ville de La Valette en Malte et dans la région Val di Noto en Sicile. / After the earthquake that struck the region of the Republic of Ragusa in 1667, Dubrovnik (formerly Ragusa), its main city, experienced a strong architectural immigration of Roman origins (and in only one case, Venetian). After attempting to trace the history of artistic and diplomatic relations between the Republic of Ragusa and the authorities of different states of the Apennine peninsula which reached their peak after the great earthquake of 1667, this study examines the role of foreign architects in the context of public administration of the Republic of Ragusa and the influence they had on the architecture of the city. Although the architects did not have their formal office within public institutions, the usual behavior of the Senate of the Republic in the process of recruitment of foreign architects shows us that same patterns of cooperation between architects and sponsor were repeated over the centuries. Therefore, we use them as strong evidences that show a stable and traditional system, which remained unchanged until the end of the Republic in 1808. In this research, the focus was on the representative architecture of the city of Ragusa and on all building sites which were under the control of the Republic. Finally, artistic migrations between Rome and Ragusa in the second half of seicento and during settecento were compared with the same phenomenon that took place between the city of Valletta in Malta and Rome and between the region Val di Noto in Sicily and Rome.

This dissertation investigates thematic unities within Robert Morris's seemingly disparate body of work. It demonstrates the thematic similarities, structural continuities and formal associations used throughout his art despite the great diversity of the media employed. It departs at times from a strictly chronological approach because its primary purpose is to explore how one work begets another or one style morphs into the next. The research involved extensive archival work studying unpublished correspondence and texts, contracts, drawings and emails, along with traditional sources like books, interviews, lectures and Morris's own published criticism and texts. The author also examined many original artworks or reproductions of unavailable ones. Chapter One discusses the definition and problem of style, establishment of artistic influences, and Morris's reluctance to accept traditional boundaries. Chapter Two addresses the choreography and its task-oriented vocabulary, and Morris's minimalist sculptures, examining his ideas on process and the phenomenology of perception. Chapter Three is devoted to Morris's concept of space and exploration of the horizontal as a spatial vector. It studies his interest in structural continuity throughout his lead, mirror and felt works, and touches on both the physical space of the sculptures, and the virtual space of the mirrors, as well as the fleeting evanescent space of the steam. His elaborations on “how to make a mark” are considered, too, from the Blind Time drawings, riding on horseback and body-part imprints, to language and the natural world. Chapter Four turns to Morris's philosophical investigations, his studies of language and imagery—some apocalyptic—and his increasing concern with destructive contemporary attitudes. Chapter Five takes up the works of the last two decades, his interest in memory and his growing cultural pessimism. Finally, analyzing one of the most recent works, the Conclusion makes clear that through its recurrent timeliness, Morris's art achieves a certain sublimity which aims towards a suspension of time—a timelessness.

The thesis explores the relationships between sound and mobility through an examination of sound art. The research engages with the intersection of sound, mobility and art through original empirical work and theoretically through a critical engagement with sound studies. In dialogue with the work of De Certeau, Lefebvre, Huhtamo and Habermas in terms of the poetics of walking, rhythms, media archeology and questions of publicness, I understand sound art as an experimental mobile and public space. The thesis establishes and situates the emerging field of mobile sound art by mapping three key traditions of mobile sound art - locative art, sound art and public art - and creates a taxonomy of mobile sound art by defining four categories: 'placing sounds', 'sound platforms', 'sonifying mobility' and 'musical instruments' (each represented by one case study). In doing so it develops a methodology that is attentive to the specifics of the sonic and mobile of media experience. I demonstrate how sonic interactions and embodied mobility are designed and experienced in specific ways in each of the four case studies - 'Aura' by Symons (UK), 'Pophorns' by Torstensson and Sandelin (Sweden), 'SmSage' by Redfern and Borland (US) and 'Core Sample' by Rueb (US) (all 2007). In tracing the topos of the musical telephone, discussing the making and breaking of relevant micro publics, accounting for the polyphonies of footsteps and unwrapping bundles of rhythms, this thesis contributes to understanding complex media experiences in hybrid spaces. In doing so it critically sheds light on the quality of sonic artistic experiences, the audience engagement with urban, public and networked spaces and the relationship between sound art and everyday media experience. My thesis provides valuable insight into auditory ways of mobilising and making public spaces, non-verbal and embodied media practices, and rhythms and scales of mobile media experiences.