The Late Gothic Carved Altarpiece from Brussels: A Catalogue, with an Historical and Interpretive Introduction

The first study devoted exclusively to the late Gothic carved altarpieces made in Brussels, this dissertation catalogues in detail 21 representative examples produced between ca. 1400 and ca. 1525. Using these as evidence, it argues that Brussels shops pioneered the highly popular Brabantine type of altarpiece, and continued to make innovations which shaped the evolution of the type into the early decades of the 16th century; and that the typical form and content of this type was designed to structure and excite devotion in a manner analogous to late medieval meditational handbooks. Adducing close formal and thematic parallels between altarpieces and texts, it seeks to show that the remarkable popularity of these visual objects stemmed from their exceptional ability to respond to the devotional requirements of their age.