Project description
Encounters with the divine in early modern art
How were encounters with the divine experienced in the time of religious turmoil between 1500 and 1700? Most historians suggest that early modern Christians eschewed physical engagement in their religion. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the THEO.SENSUS project aims to challenge this claim by examining religious works of art from Italy, Flanders and the Dutch Republic. The project will highlight the importance of sensory experiences for spirituality through an exploration of artistic representations of post-Resurrection apparitions and the impact of culture, society and gender in shaping them. Additionally, THEO.SENSUS will establish an image database, allowing a novel comparative perspective on the relationship of humankind to the divine and sacred.
Objective
Theo.Sensus aims to initiate a global study on how the cultural background of Christian believers influences the way in which theophanic phenomena are experienced and understood in the modern era (1500-1700). Paintings, drawings and prints depicting post-Resurrection appearances from Italy, Flanders, and the Dutch Republic will constitute its main object of study. A database gathering those images will be created in order to support research and then promote it.
Particular attention will be paid to the various ways in which artists represent the sensory interactions between theophanic witnesses and the divine body. In so doing, Theo.Sensus seeks to show the crucial role played by the senses in a Christian society that has mainly been viewed as rejecting the involvement of the body in the faithful’s relationship with God. It will thus contribute to recent research aimed at demonstrating that the senses are a powerful anagogical relay. Theo.Sensus’ image-based and comparative approach is innovative and will provide a better understanding of the different ways in which relations with the divine were conceived at a time characterized by profound religious, ideological and epistemic renewals. Ultimately, this study will explore the nuances existing in Christian’s practices and aspirations towards the divine, nuances based in part on cultural, social and/or gender criteria.
It will be supervised by Pr. Ingrid Falque, an expert in the relationship between visual culture and religious practices in late medieval and early modern Northern Europe, and be hosted at the Group of Early Modern Cultural Analysis at UCLouvain. Theo.Sensus relies on synergic exchanges between the researcher and the host organization since the candidate is specialized in the study of Italy, while the GEMCA focuses on Northern Europe. Through the training program, the researcher will enhance her career perspective by widening her field of expertise and gaining skills in database management.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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1348 LOUVAIN LA NEUVE
Belgium
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