Free of charge
About the lecture
The metaphor of the mirror (spieghel) permeates Dutch painting, used by turns as a symbol of faith and salvation or vice and madness. The fool contemplates himself in a mirror, or holds it up to the viewer. He gazes at or converses with his marotte, his reflection in miniature. He carries a lit lantern in broad daylight or brandishes an owl. He points an accusing finger. He challenges us with his rebus or, as he peers at us through his fingers, he seems to say, “These days, people look through their fingers; that’s why everything is going wrong in the world.” The traits and gestures of the fool, which emphasize the act of looking, are based on the Christian concept of vision, opposing moral blindness and spiritual judgment. This antithesis is dialectized by Erasmus in the form of irony and paradox: on the one hand, the fool who embodies humanity’s moral blindness; on the other, the discernment of the “morosoph” – the learned fool who reveals the folly of the world and urges self-awareness. From Bosch to Bruegel, from Verbeeck to Jordaens, we’ll examine some of the visual or scopic strategies of Flemish iconography of the fool, involving paradox, manipulation of the gaze, visual challenges and subtle irony.
The lecture series accompanying the exhibition Saints, Sinners, Lovers and Fools: Three Hundred Years of Flemish Masterworks, was developed in collaboration with Itay Sapir, Professor of Art History at Université du Québec à Montréal.
About the speaker
Michel Weemans is Professor of Art History at the Université Paris I – Sorbonne. A specialist in 16th-century Flemish art and landscape painting, he has published several books, including Herri Met de Bles. Les ruses du paysage au temps de Bruegel et d'Erasme (Hazan, 2013), as well as co-editing the book Voir double. Pièges et révélations du visible (Hazan, 2016). He was co-curator of the exhibition Fables du paysage flamand. Bosch, Brueghel, Bles, Bril (Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, 2012-2013).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Location: Maxwell Cummings Auditorium, 1379-A, Sherbrooke Street West
Reservation terms: Please note that seats will be reserved until the event begins. Once the activity has started, any seats still available will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
