Conferences
Art Talks
Antica Namur celebrates works that have made their mark on the art world. It is sometimes surprising to realise that certain artists or works are essential in their discipline but little known outside it.
Through conferences, highlights and other initiatives, we intend to give visibility to the key artists and works present at this 2024 edition.
The Mystic Lamb by the van Eyck brothers 1432
By Guy van Wassenhove, curator of the Fonds Baillet Latour and Marie-Elisabeth van Rijckevorsel, art historian
Sunday 10 November at 3 pm
Guy van Wassenhove has been curator of the Fonds Baillet Latour for 20 years. An ambassador for the and lecturer, he has accompanied the restoration of more than 150 major works of Belgian heritage including the Mystic Lamb by the van Eyck brothers since 2012.
The lecture will take you to the physical and theological heart of this sublime work, and bring to life its story, a veritable novel. The altarpiece of the Mystic Lamb by the van Eyck brothers is almost 600 years old and has been undergoing restoration since 2012, which will be completed in 2026.
The polyptych in Saint Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent is a world heritage site and arguably the most famous masterpiece of the Flemish Primitives. It was created in 1432 by Jan and Hubert van Eyck, commissioned by Judocus Vijd, the first alderman of the city of Ghent.
The religious and cultural significance as well as the technical challenges of restoration will be discussed during this conference.
The true and the false. Expertise and scientific research
By Jan De Maere, Professor at the Neurology and Motor Sciences Faculty of the ULB
Monday 11 November at 3 pm
Jan De Maere has 50 years’ experience as a forensic expert and professor of scientific research and Connoisseurship (Duke University-VUB). He is currently Professor at the Faculty of
Neurology and Motor Sciences at the ULB (Erasmus Institute), where he analyses the relationship between art and the brain.
Using examples from expert reports and scientific research, he will interpret the concept of ‘authentic’ in its temporal and ancient context.
Jewellery, a vehicle for our feelings
By Laure Dorchy, expert in gemology, antique jewellery and jewellery making
Saturday 16 November at 3pm
Since the dawn of time, jewellery has undoubtedly been a precious means of linking people between people. But sentimental jewellery can be said to have really come into its own in the Middle Ages.
Laure Dorchy, an art historian specialising in the history of jewellery, will take us on a journey from the Middle Ages to the present day, illustrating the symbolism behind a piece of jewellery.
In France, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s novel ‘La Nouvelle Héloïse’ (The New Heloise), published in 1761, had been extolling sentiment and virtue since the end of the 18th century, in reaction to the trivialities of worldly life.
This led to the emergence of the sentimental jewel, which enjoyed its heyday in the 19th century. Romanticism, distilled through literature, contaminated the decorative arts in France after the revolution of 1830.
In England, Queen Victoria was the standard-bearer for this romantic style where feelings were exacerbated. Her early mourning in 1861 moved the whole of Europe.
This exaltation of feelings can be applied to jewellery on several levels: a virtue can be attributed to a type of gemstone, the language of stones can be used, and the shape and material can be played with.
L’Agneau Mystique
des frères van Eyck 1432
‘The Mystic Lamb by the van Eyck brothers 1432’ (Ghent) by Guy van Wassenhove, Curator of the Fonds Baillet Latour for the past 20 years and Marie-Elizabeth van Rijckevorsel, art historian and guide. This lecture will take you to the physical and theological heart of this sublime work, and bring to life its story, a veritable novel.
The altarpiece of the Mystic Lamb by the van Eyck brothers is nearly 600 years old and has been undergoing restoration since 2012, which will be completed in 2026.
Sunday 10 November at 3pm
Le vrai et le faux. Expertise et recherche scientifique.
Jan De Maere has 50 years’ experience as a judicial expert and professor of scientific research and Connoisseurship (Duke University-VUB). He is currently Professor at the NeurologY and Motor Sciences Faculty of the ULB (Erasmus Institute).
Using examples from expert reports and scientific research, he will interpret the concept of ‘authentic’ in its temporal and ancient context.
Monday 11 November at 3pm
Les bijoux, véhicules de nos sentiments
Since the dawn of time, jewellery has certainly been a precious means of linking people romantically. But sentimental jewellery can be said to have really come into its own in the Middle Ages.
Laure Dorchy, an art historian specialising in the history of jewellery, will trace the passage of time from the Middle Ages to the present day, illustrating the symbolism behind a piece of jewellery.
