La producción de imágenes como capital simbólico. Artistas y patrocinadores de la mesocracia cordobesa en la Época Moderna

Abstract

What is the function of images in Early Modern Córdoba? The PhD Thesis addresses to construct interpretative hypotheses to understand visual objects as historical evidence which can aids us to consider new historical narratives about how images were used by different social groups to reach the top of the social ladder in the Early Modern Era. Approaching images as symbolic capital we claim that they were used device to materialize the aspirations of a society that demanded the representation of different themes, based on specific practices, uses, and functions that are part of its cultural field. In this regard, our aim is to analyse works of art not conceived as aesthetic objects susceptible to study solely from a physical plane, but in their nature as images, from a holistic approach and a renewed methodology that considers them as historical documents. Historical reconstruction through images does not necessarily imply the study of artistic qualities or aesthetic value that certain works may or may not possess, but rather their function in portraying concepts integrated and assimilated in cultural fields, where social groups demand different systems of image production to drive them towards the achievement of their own objectives. The variability of social groups, the objectives that different social groups may set, and the role that the artisan or artisans play in these social processes compel us to carry out a specific study based on the analysis of different cases, embedded in a broad time frame (from the late 16th century to the late 18th century), presenting common characteristics that allow us to develop an interpretative framework of historical-artistic nature applicable to other examples found in the environment of the kingdom of Córdoba or in other cities of Spain. In order to do that, we have developed an inductive method that includes case studies to examine the detection of discrepancies, differences, or oppositions though images in their own time, insisting on the role of the historical horizon in which their reception takes place. Therefore, observing the discordances in the historical narratives has allowed us to activate relational possibilities, generating new connections between the images and early modern society.