Call for Papers: Cultural Crossroads: Artistic Encounters between the Low Countries and Spain, 15th-17th Centuries (Brussels, 28 Nov. 2025), Due 6 June 2025

Call for Papers

Cultural Crossroads

Artistic Encounters between the Low Countries and Spain, 15th-17th Centuries.

III. Echoes of Flemish Sculpture in Spain from Gothic to Baroque

Brussels, 28 November 2025

Due 6 June 2025

Since 2020, the Moll Institute (Madrid) and the Fondation Périer-D’Ieteren (Brussels) have been conducting a research program aimed at identifying and studying the art that developed in the Low Countries between the 15th and 17th centuries and that is preserved in Spanish collections. As part of this collaboration, a series of study days has been organized since 2023 to stimulate and disseminate research conducted in this field. The first and second study days (2023 Brussels; 2024 Madrid) focused on, respectively, painting and tapestry. The third study day will be dedicated to sculpture and will be organized in Brussels, at the Fondation Périer-D’Ieteren.

Focus & Scope

Contributions may relate to the following areas:

  • Mobility of artists and local settlement: trajectories of Flemish artists; establishment of artistic hubs in centres such as Seville and Burgos; social and professional integration of sculptors and their workshops; the importance of ports and trade fairs for cultural exchanges.

  • Patrons and commissions: the role of the royal court; commissions from the nobility and the bourgeoisie; the impact of religious institutions.

  • Typologies and specific features of the works: sculpted altarpieces integrated into local architecture; funerary monuments and their iconography; small devotional pieces adapted to the Spanish market etc.

  • Technique and materials: introduction of new techniques; adaptation of local materials by Flemish sculptors.

  • Conservation and restoration issues: exploring conservation challenges and restoration solutions for a distinctive Flemish art form in Spanish collections.

Submission

We welcome all paper proposals (English, French, Spanish) related to the topics outlined above. Duration per paper is maximum 20 minutes. Accepted papers will be considered for publication in a collective volume, to be published in the series Cahiers d’études of the Annales d’Histoire de l’Art et d’Archéologie (Brussels). In addition, the artworks discussed in these papers will be included in the Flemish Art in Spain database: https://www.flemishartinspain.com/en.

Paper proposals can be submitted until and including June 6, 2025, and should include a title and short abstract of approximately 300 words, along with a concise CV (to be submitted to congreso@institutomoll.es and fondation@perier-dieteren.org). Notification on the acceptance or rejection of papers will be done before August 31, 2025. Please note that transport and accommodation costs are not borne by the organizing institutions.

Organizing Committee
– Dr. Sacha Zdanov, Fondation Périer-D’Ieteren / Université Libre de Bruxelles
– Dr. Wendy Frère, Fondation Périer-D’Ieteren
– Dr. Ana Diéguez Rodríguez, Instituto Moll / Universidad de Burgos

Call for Papers (PDF)Télécharger

For more information, visit https://www.perier-dieteren.org/journee-detude-cultural-crossroads/