Books and Culture summer school
Religious Imagery in Manuscripts, Prints and Books in The Low Countries
Join this summer school designed for Master’s students, PhD candidates, and postdocs to explore the fascinating world of religious imagery in the late-medieval and early-modern periods in the Low Countries. This programme features international expert speakers who will delve into the design, materiality, production processes, meaning, and interpretation of religious images.
Programme Highlights
Gain an in-depth understanding of religious imagery through a series of lectures, conceived as hands-on workshops. Topics include the religious images across different media (drawings, etchings, engravings, woodcuts, devotional prints, and book illustrations). Participants will explore both the materiality of religious images—such as design and production—and theoretical approaches, with methodical reflections on modes of interpretation, as well as in-depth analyses of the meaning of individual images.
Introductory sessions will highlight Antwerp’s pivotal role as an international printing center from the 16th century onward, with a special focus on its influence on religious imagery.
Most sessions are hands-on, utilising the exceptional collections of the Ruusbroec Institute Library and the Museum Plantin-Moretus. Participants will have the rare opportunity to handle historical materials, immersing themselves in the tangible history of religious imagery.
With enrollment limited to 15 participants, the summer school fosters interaction and lively discussion between students and expert lecturers.
Participants will enjoy guided tours of:
- The Museum Plantin-Moretus, recognised by Unesco for the historic site, its historical and research libraries and its unique series of business papers dating back to the 16th century.
- The Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, known for its remarkable architecture and rare collections.
- The Special Collections Department of the University Library, specialising in Jesuitica and Antverpiensia.
This summer school is an unforgettable experience for researchers interested in religious imagery’s role in Western European culture. Through expert-led sessions, historic materials, and unique venues, participants will gain invaluable insights into this pivotal aspect of art history.
Organisers
Prof. Dr. Kees Schepers, Ruusbroec Institute
Dr. Daniël Ermens, Ruusbroec Institute
Target group
Master students, PhD students and postdocs intending to integrate book and art historical approaches into their research (history, literary history, art history, religious and church history, etc.).
Campus
This summer school takes place at the Library of the Ruusbroec Institute of the University of Antwerp and the Plantin-Moretus Museum.
Visits to the Antwerp University Library and Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library (Antwerp), and a printing demonstration and an etching workshop are also part of the programme.
Micro-credential and study credits (ECTS)
Successful completion of the programme and the writing of a paper can be awarded with 3 ECTS credits. To obtain these credits, participants need to complete a scientific paper. More information will be shared at the start of the summer school. All certificates of completion are issued as a micro-credential.
Social programme
Participants will be able to get in touch with peers attending other summer schools at the Antwerp Summer University. A visit to the beautiful city hall, a networking reception, a guided city walk, a quiz night, a football game and a day-trip to another Belgian city such as Bruges or Brussels are only some examples of these activities. All activities of the social programme are offered free of charge, in some cases participants will be asked for a deposit which will be reimbursed upon participation to the activity.
Learning outcomes
- In general: The students will have knowledge of the different types of religious images in manuscripts, books and prints, in the late-medieval and early-modern periods.
- Specifically: the students will have a basic knowledge of Antwerp as centre for the production of books and prints
- Understand the different procedures and techniques to design and produce single leaf prints (woodcuts, engravings, etches)..
- Understanding of the interplay between texts and images in manuscripts and early printed books.
- Understanding of the iconography of devotional prints and of the methods to categorize them.
- A basic understanding of the history of prints from late-medieval to early-modern times, with a focus on the Low Countries.
- A basic understanding of the developments of religious imagery in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- A basic understanding of the organization of liturgical books and the use of prints int them.
- Learn what in-depth analysis of religious iconography entails: contextualize and explore specific meaning.
- Hands-on experience in workshops on printing and etching.