View source for Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art

'''Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art''' [[KU Leuven]], is a university-led research and documentation centre. It is situated in the University Library (Ladeuzeplein in Leuven) in the town of [[Leuven]], Belgium and is accessible to both academics and students. The focus on Medieval and Early Modern Art from the Southern Low Countries in a European perspective is facilitated by both research and doctoral projects that are in turn supported by a vast international network of universities, institutions, and museums.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.illuminare.be/|title=Home {{!}} Illuminare|website=www.illuminare.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref>
== Research ==
Illuminare conserves and catalogues illuminated manuscripts and carries out art technical research (''Book Heritage Lab'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theo.kuleuven.be/apps/press/bookheritagelab/|title=Book Heritage Lab – KU Leuven|website=theo.kuleuven.be|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vlaamse-erfgoedbibliotheek.be/nieuws/2016/05/3697-opening-book-heritage-lab-ku-leuven|title=Opening Book Heritage Lab - KU Leuven {{!}} Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek|website=www.vlaamse-erfgoedbibliotheek.be|language=nl|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> Recent research and conservation projects performed by the Book Heritage Lab, include the ''[[Codex Eyckensis]]'' (8th century) (2016/18),<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.codexeyckensis.be/en/|title=Codex Eyckensis|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en|archive-date=2017-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930174827/https://www.codexeyckensis.be/en/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.erfgoed-kbs.be/nieuws/oudste-boek-van-belgie-onderzocht|title=Oudste boek van België onderzocht! {{!}} Erfgoed KBS|website=www.erfgoed-kbs.be|language=nl|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kikirpa.be/EN/32/61/news/1376/index.htm?'%20title='Codex%20Eyckensis%20Project|title=kikirpa - News|website=www.kikirpa.be|access-date=2018-05-14}}{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the illuminated manuscripts from the [[Museum Mayer van den Bergh|Mayer van den Bergh]] Museum (2014/19),<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://enrichingheritage.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/looking-past-the-curve-digitising-the-mayer-van-den-bergh-breviary/|title=Looking past the curve. Digitising the Mayer van den Bergh Breviary|date=2015-12-14|work=Enriching Heritage|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en-US}}</ref> the technological study of the Enclosed Gardens of Mechelen (Art Garden, 2016/20)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esat.kuleuven.be/psi/projects/current/ARTGARDEN|title=ARTGARDEN: Art Technical Research and Preservation of Historical Mixed - Media Ensembles: 'Enclosed Gardens'|website=www.esat.kuleuven.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.artsflanders.be/news/heritage/city-of-mechelen-restores-enclosed-gardens|title=City of Mechelen restores Enclosed Gardens {{!}} Arts Flanders|website=www.artsflanders.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930131825/http://www.artsflanders.be/news/heritage/city-of-mechelen-restores-enclosed-gardens|archive-date=2017-09-30|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://portablelightdome.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/detailed-imaging-with-the-microdome-of-the-enclosed-gardens-16th-century-mechelen/|title=Detailed imaging with the Microdome of the Enclosed Gardens (16th century), Mechelen|date=2014-10-08|work=Portable Light Dome|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en-US}}</ref> and the [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder|Bruegel]] drawings and prints project (Fingerprint 2016/20).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kbr.be/en/fingerprint|title=FINGERPRINT|date=2016-09-23|work=Royal Library of Belgium|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fingerprintbruegel.wordpress.com/|title=Fingerprint|website=Fingerprint|language=nl-NL|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esat.kuleuven.be/psi/projects/current/FINGERPRINT|title=FINGERPRINT: Innovative Visual Data Management for Drawings and Prints Collections|website=www.esat.kuleuven.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> Equally, Illuminare examines, through an interdisciplinary approach, the iconology of Medieval Art (''Iconology Research Group'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iconologyresearchgroup.org/|title=Barbara Baert {{!}} Illuminare|website=www.iconologyresearchgroup.org|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> Recent research projects of the Iconology Research Group have been, among others, the study of the phenomenon of the 'John the Baptist's head on a platter' (2012/16),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baert|first=Barbara|date=2012-06-14|title=Caput Johannis in Disco: {Essay on a Man's Head}|publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004224117 |url=http://www.brill.com/caput-johannis-disco|language=en}}</ref> the study of liturgical objects and their use in Belgian collections (OrnaSacra, 2017/21),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uclouvain.be/fr/instituts-recherche/incal/ornamenta-sacra.html|title=Projet BRAIN Ornamenta Sacra {{!}} UCLouvain|website=uclouvain.be|language=fr|access-date=2018-05-14|archive-date=2017-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930131927/https://uclouvain.be/fr/instituts-recherche/incal/ornamenta-sacra.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the examination of the afterlife of the figure of [[Kairos]] (2017/21).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.francquifoundation.be/rapport-test/2016-rapport-jury-barbara-baert/|title=2016 – Rapport Jury Barbara Baert – Fondation Francqui – Stichting|website=www.francquifoundation.be|language=fr-FR|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> The research centre holds and manages several research archives previously belonging to renowned art historians such as Maurits Smeyers, Bert Cardon, Jan Karel Steppe, Antoine De Schrijver, and Hans Nieuwdorp.
== Exhibitions ==
Illuminare organises national and international exhibitions; the most recent exhibitions include, ''In Search of [[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]'' (2016/17, M-Museum of Leuven);<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://utopia.prezly.com/persbericht#|title=PERSBERICHT: Op zoek naar Utopia, de meest spraakmakende tentoonstelling van 2016|access-date=2018-05-14|language=nl-BE}}</ref> ''[[Hieronymus Cock]] - The Renaissance in Print'' (2013, M-Museum of Leuven and Fondation Custodia, Paris);<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.artsflanders.be/news/heritage/exhibition-on-hieronymus-cock-travels-to-paris|title=Exhibition on Hieronymus Cock travels to Paris {{!}} Arts Flanders|website=www.artsflanders.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vlaamseprimitieven.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/en/news/exhibition-hieronymus-cock-the-renaissance-in-print|title=Exhibition Hieronymus Cock - The renaissance in print {{!}} Flemish Primitives|website=vlaamseprimitieven.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> ''Magnificent Middle Ages'' (2013, Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp);<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.museumplantinmoretus.be/en/page/magnificent-middle-ages|title=The Magnificent Middle Ages {{!}} Museum Plantin-Moretus|website=www.museumplantinmoretus.be|language=en|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> ''The Anjou Bible - A Royal Manuscript Revealed'' (2010, M-Museum of Leuven) and ''[[Rogier van der Weyden]] 1400/1464 – Master of Passions'' (2009, M-Museum of Leuven)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.codart.nl/guide/exhibitions/rogier-van-der-weyden-1400-1464-de-passie-van-de-meester/|title=Rogier van der Weyden 1400 {{!}} 1464: de passie van de meester -|work=CODART|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Publications ==
In addition, the research centre publishes four in-house publications: ''Corpus of Illuminated Manuscripts'', ''Art and Religion'', ''Studies in Iconology'', and ''Iconologies''. Illuminare also produces exhibition catalogues and colloquium proceedings. In 2017, the Royal Flemish Academy for Sciences and the Arts bestowed the whole Illuminare team with the annual Science Communication Prize, in recognition of the exhibition ''In Search of Utopia.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kvab.be/prijzen/jaarprijzen-wetenschapscommunicatie|title=De Jaarprijzen wetenschapscommunicatie {{!}} Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten|website=www.kvab.be|language=nl|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illuminare - Centre for the Study of Medieval Art}}
[[Category:Medieval art]]
[[Category:Historiography of the Middle Ages]]
[[Category:University museums]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Belgium]]
[[Category:KU Leuven]]