About us
The research group Histories of Art, Architecture and Visual Culture (VISU) offers a platform for fundamental research on the history and theory of art, architecture and visual culture from the early modern period up to the present. We study not only the artistic and architectural practice, the material object and the spatial environment, but also the broader cultural, historical and societal context, which often relates to current themes such as new media, visualisation of conflict and war, urbanisation, sustainability, multiculturality and globalisation. Key questions concern the circulation of images, artefacts, practices and knowledge across boundaries. These cross-overs are understood as mutual interactions between the different arts and as exchanges between different cultures, traditions, regions or periods.
Recent News
Origin of famous Veere cup discovered by Hanne Schonkeren
VISU member Hanne Schonkeren discovered that the famous sixteenth-century ornamental cup, preserved in the city hall of Veere, was made in Antwerp.
VISU at the Historians of Netherlandish Art Conference 2024
We are excited to share that VISU members Tine Meganck and Hanne Schonkeren will be presenting their research at the Historians of Netherlandish Art (HNA) Conference, which will take place in Cambridge on 10-13 July 2024.
Tacit knowledge and sensory experience in a sixteenth-century gold and silversmithing workshop
VISU member Hanne Schonkeren will be presenting her research at the 36th Congress of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art, hosted in Lyon, 23 - 28 June 2024.
Events
Practical info-Public defense of Senne Schraeyen
VISU member Senne Schraeyen will be defending his PhD project "Sustainable Yet Forgotten: Rediscovering the contribution of Belgian art practices to the second wave of environmentalism".
Practical info-Craft and craftsmanship in the seventeenth-century Netherlands
VISU member Marlise Rijks will be co-hosting the annual conference of the Seventeenth Century Working Group, which will take place in Antwerp on Friday, August 30, 2024. During this conference, VISU member Hanne Schonkeren will present her research.
Practical info-Lecture 'Speaking of Identity'
On Monday, 24 June 2024, the VUB has the honour of welcoming world-renowned philosopher Prof. Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah for an exceptional lecture. The lecture will open a new series of VUB-sponsored events, “Ties that Bind Us: Transcultural Perspectives on Social Forms”.
