Carthusians and Images. New Perspectives on Reli- gious Art and Devotional Culture in the Late Me- dieval and Early Modern Charterhouse
Les chartreux et les images. Nouvelles perspectives sur l’art et la culture dévotionnels cartusiens à la fin du Moyen Âge et durant la première modernité
Kartäuser und Bilder. Neue Perspektiven auf religiöse Kunst und An- dachtskultur in der Kar- tause des Spätmittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit
Published on Monday, July 08, 2024
Abstract
Malgré les affirmations de simplicité des fondateurs de l’ordre des chartreux, images et œuvres d’art sont très largement présentes dans les monastères cartusiens, en particulier à la fin du Moyen Âge et durant la première modernité. Dans le cadre de cette conférence, nous souhaitons explorer plus avant de nouvelles pistes de recherche et ouvrir de nouvelles voies afin de mieux cerner le rôle des œuvres d’art et des images dans les chartreuses européennes.
Announcement
Argument
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 wealthynoble 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).
Submission guidelines
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.
before 30 September 2024
Useful information
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)
Subjects
Places
- KartHuis - Tervuursevest 242c
Leuven, Belgium
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Monday, September 30, 2024
Attached files
Keywords
- chartreux, iconologie, iconographie, image et spiritualité, image dévotionnelle, environnement visuel
Contact(s)
- Ingrid Falque
courriel : ingrid [dot] falque [at] uclouvain [dot] be - Naïs Virenque
courriel : nais [dot] virenque [at] uclouvain [dot] be - Tom Gaens
courriel : tom [dot] gaens [at] twelvemonks [dot] be - Isabel Barros Felix
courriel : isabel [dot] barrosfelix [at] uclouvain [dot] be
Information source
- Naïs Virenque
courriel : nais [dot] virenque [at] uclouvain [dot] be
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Carthusians and Images. New Perspectives on Reli- gious Art and Devotional Culture in the Late Me- dieval and Early Modern Charterhouse », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, July 08, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/11ylb
