Genius before Romanticism: Ingenuity in Early Modern Art and ScienceWhat existed in the European imagination before the Romantic concept of ‘genius’? This five-year project will examine notions of unique talent, heightened imagination and extraordinary creativity in art and science by exploring the language, theories, practices and products of ingenium (ingenuity) ca. 1450-ca. 1750. Drawing on the perspectives of history of art, history of science, technology and medicine, intellectual history and literary studies, the project seeks to capture ingenuity across and between disciplines. Studying five countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and England) across three centuries, it will trace ingenuity’s shifting patterns and fragmented fortunes over the longue durée.Research will be conducted in four strands, focused on distinctive but interrelated aspects of ingenuity. Strand 1, The ‘Language of Ingenuity’, will chart the word history of the ingenuity family of terms. Strand 2, ‘Conceptualizing Ingenuity’, will explore the intellectual framework of ingenuity through its theoretical treatment in natural philosophy and artistic theory. Strand 3, ‘Ingenuity in the Making’, will examine the cunning knowledge of ingenious craftsmen and the properties of ‘spirited’ materials. Strand 4, ‘Ingenious Images’, will investigate the visual culture of ingenuity, from the iconography of ingenium to the witty disingenuousness of optical games.The findings of the project team will be disseminated to a scholarly audience and the wider public through monographs, volumes of essays, a critical edition, an exhibition, conferences and colloquia, and a project website.