Religious Art in Museums and in Situ: What is Preferred?
Micha Leeflang, Curator of Medieval Art, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht

Abstract

Very few of the religious artworks and works of applied art produced in the Netherlands, whether paintings, sculptures, liturgical vessels, or vestments, have been preserved in their original settings. Many have disappeared or been lost altogether since the Reformation. Some have been preserved, however – a few in churches and more commonly in museums. Micha Leeflang will explore the differences between seeing items of religious heritage in a museum and seeing them in situ, while also highlighting the importance of a knowledge of the artwork’s original context to the experience and interpretation of religious art.

About Micha Leeflang

Micha Leeflang (1975) studied technical art history at the University of Groningen, where she defended her dissertation Uytnemende Schilder van Antwerpen. Joos van Cleve: atelier, productie en werkmethoden in 2007. From 2005 to 2007 she was on the staff of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam as curatorial researcher. Since 2007 she has been a curator at Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht.