Call for Abstracts for Symposium XXIII for the Study of the Underdrawing and Technology in Painting
The international and interdisciplinary XXIII Symposium for the Study of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting focuses on 'Cross-Media Perspectives. Technical Studies of Art on Panel, Paper and Parchment (1400-1600)'. They are now issuing a call for abstracts. The three-day congress will take place from 11 to 13 January 2024 in Leuven and Brussels.
The 23rd symposium will provide a scientific forum for the presentation of new technical studies in art history, concentrating on art from the Middle Ages and Early Modern period (1400-1600). The conference will focus on the technical examination of art in a variety of media and supports: panel paintings, painting on parchment and canvas, drawings, cartoons, sketches, model- and sketchbooks, prints and manuscript illuminations.
The main theme will be cross-media perspectives in the context of artistic materials, working methods, and the dissemination of concepts. Similarities in design might indicate cultural, social, geographical, or chronological connections in paintings, drawings, prints etc. as well as links across other artistic media. Recent developments in artificial intelligence can offer alternative possibilities in this research field, stimulate contacts and the exchange of experience, and form a bridge between art and science.
The XXIII Symposium of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting will be held in Leuven and Brussels and will coincide with the exhibition “Dieric Bouts. Creator of Images” in Museum M. The working language of the symposium is English. The lectures will be published in the proceedings in the Series Underdrawing and Technology in Painting (Peeters Publishers).
The abstract submission deadline is Thursday 1 June 2023.
More KIK-IRPA news
Colour4CRAFTS brings international textile expertise together at KIK-IRPA
In December, the KIK-IRPA Textiles Lab had the pleasure of hosting the consortium meeting of the Colour4CRAFTS project.
Safe cleaning strategies for the gilded surfaces of the Ghent Altarpiece
On 30-31 October 2025, the Art Salinity and Acidity Project (ASAP), the Materials Science for Conservation Research (MatCoRe) unit – jointly supported by KIK-IRPA and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) – and the Ghent Altarpiece conservation-restoration team came together for a unique two-day collaboration focused on the gilded areas of the paintings.