International Conference
Leuven, KartHuis,
15-17 May 2025
Deadline for submitting a proposal: 30 September 2024
Despite the assertions about simplicity by the founding fathers of the Carthusian order, charterhouses readily displayed images and works of art, especially during the late Middle Ages and Early Modernity. In the late Middle Ages, the Carthusian order underwent considerable expansion; charterhouses were then frequently built in the neighbourhoods of cities and depended largely on the donations of wealthy noble and patrician benefactors. In exchange for this financial support, these benefactors expected the monks—who were then considered as a spiritual elite—to pray for the salvation of their souls. Also Carthusian entanglements in religious reform implied increasing interactions with the outside world. For a long time, scholars assumed that the presence of artworks in charterhouses should first and foremost be explained by the influence of these benefactors. However, this assumption tends now to be revised and greater consideration is given to the involvement of the monks in the visual programme of their monasteries, leading to take a fresh look at patronage of charterhouses. Furthermore, there is also evidence of the presence of small devotional images, painted or sculpted, in the monks’ cells. Similarly, a considerable number of illustrated manuscripts and printed books with a Carthusian provenance have been preserved, suggesting that the images may have served as a support for contemplative and meditative practices, just like texts did.
In this conference, we would like to explore these new lines of research further and open up new avenues for understanding the role of works of art and images in Carthusian monasteries (c. 1350- 1700). We invite papers from scholars (including advanced graduate students) whose work addresses topics including, but not limited to:
- Image-based meditative and devotional practices in the Carthusian context;
- Experiences of art and images in the charterhouses;
- Discourses on imagery by Carthusian authors;
- Material and/or visual cultures of charterhouses;
- Artistic activities of Carthusian monks and nuns;
- Innovative looks at Carthusian patronage;
- Comparative approaches to Carthusian art (with other monastic orders);
Papers can be presented preferably in English, but also in French, or German. Presenters will have the opportunity to publish a refereed article in a dedicated volume. If you are interested to participate, please send your paper proposal (max. 500 words) and title accompanied by a short CV or bio before 30 September 2024 to: ingrid.falque@uclouvain.be and tom.gaens@uantwerpen.be.
The conference will take place in KartHuis, the former charterhouse of Leuven, on 15-17 May 2025 and will be held in the context of the 600th birthday celebration of the universities of Louvain-la-Neuve and Leuven.
Organizers:
- Isabel Barros Felix (UCLouvain, GEMCA)
- Ingrid Falque (FNRS/UCLouvain, GEMCA)
- Tom Gaens (Ruusbroec Institute, UAntwerpen)
- Naïs Virenque (UCLouvain,GEMCA)