The Mediterranean Basin was, in many aspects, the cradle of modern civilization. Here western philosophy was created and developed, and here the religious concept of monotheism first appeared. The seeds of modern literature and poetry and of modern scientific approach are rooted in the culture of the Mediterranean Basin as well. For art historians the Mediterranean Basin is first and foremost the place where the western canons of beauty were created. It is the locus of the appearance and development of the formal and critical ideas of classicism. It is also the area where encounters with other cultures were eventually to produce new forms and new meanings. Classical, Jewish, Early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic and modern cultures, all contributed to the formation of diverse artistic expressions around the Mediterranean Basin which, in turn, disseminated far and wide to leave their mark on other cultures.

This notion of the Mediterranean as a cultural watershed is not new to researchers in all fields of history, and has indeed been reflected in numerous publications. Thus, the main objective of the conference is to further explore two major aspects of Mediterranean art in its wider cultural context: the formation and development of artistic expressions within the Mediterranean Basin in relation to their cultural origin and background, and the relationship between the art of the Mediterranean world and that of other cultures.