Early Netherlandish Painting

How correct is the interpretation of early Netherlandish painting? The perceptions developed in the past are only one aspect of the content of this course; at the core are the paintings themselves, together with current attitudes towards them. Particularly X-ray images and infrared reflectography allow us to peer behind the painting. Distance is taken from the thinking of Erwin Panofsky, who assumed there to be a hidden symbolic interpretation under the apparently realistic character of the paintings. Research into those commissioning the works and into the devotional practice at the time also contributes to a better understanding of early Netherlandish painting. (C17311 from the BA-programme)