Activities

18-28 June 2017

Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture in the Low Countries

Flemish Art Collection and M-Museum Leuven.

 

Erin Giffin participated in the Summer Course for the Study of the Arts in Flanders, eleven days devoted to medieval and renaissance sculpture!

Following introductions at Leuven City Hall and personal research presentations, participants of the summer course began an intensive program in medieval and renaissance sculpture of the Low Countries in Leuven, Mechelen, Bruges, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Maastricht, Aachen, Liège, Zoutleeuw and Brussels. Activities not only included visits to churches and museums, but also exclusive museum warehouse tours, workshops, lectures, and debates. Every aspect of medieval sculpture was discussed, ranging chronologically from 796 (with a visit to the Pfalz Chapel in Aachen) to 1566 (the era of Iconoclasm marked the end of the glorious period of late-gothic sculpture in the Low Countries). In addition to the range of materials (stone, ivory, alabaster, bronze, copper and wood), participants also studied various types of sculpture: religious (altarpieces, church interiors, saints, microsculpture), secular, funerary, etc. Different kinds of research methods and restoration techniques were also introduced. The program culminated with Dr. Matt Ethan Kavaler (University of Toronto) and his presentation, ‘The Sacred Theatre of Medieval Sculpture,’ synthesizing key themes of the summer course.