On 20 September 2009 the new M-Museum Leuven (Belgium) was inaugurated
with the opening of the exhibition Rogier van der Weyden 1400-1464 -
Master of Passions. The starting point of the exhibition was the
work of Rogier van der Weyden himself and the intention was to display
and define his individual style and contribution. To demonstrate the
significance of his overwhelming influence across artistic media, his
own works were brought together with those of his contemporaries and
followers: painters, designers, sculptors, tapestry weavers and
embroiderers.
His significance was reflected in the international
Colloquium Rogier van der Weyden in Context, which took place on
22, 23 and 24 October 2009. It was organised by Illuminare - Centre for
the Study of Medieval Art (KU Leuven), the Art History Department KU
Leuven and Artes.Leuven, in conjunction with the UCL (Catholic
University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Laboratoire d’étude des oeuvres d’art
par les méthodes scientifiques) and the KIK-IRPA (Royal Institute for
Cultural Heritage, Belgium).
It was the XVIIth Symposium for the
Study of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting, yet its scope was
extended beyond the technical examination of paintings so that the work
of one great genius, Rogier van der Weyden, could be considered in a
variety of contexts.
The papers in this volume are grouped around
the following themes: (i) Rogier van der Weyden, painter and designer;
(ii) Archival sources; (iii) Studies in painting; (iv) Studies in
underdrawing; (v) Studies in sculpture; (vi) The legacy of Van der
Weyden.