WP1: Figuring Moments – Discursive and Visual Forms of the Present

FR

Summary

This work package explores how the present perceived and represented between the 14^th and 17^th centuries through Northwestern European different languages, literary and visual arts. Five subprojects analyze the concepts of modernity and contemporaneity as criteria for evaluating linguistic norms and literary canons in French, Dutch, German, and English; the new modes of portraiture, the narratives and images of disasters, the capturing of the « live moment » and new ways of grasping everyday life in visual arts.

Description

Since Saint Augustine, the present has been perceived as an elusive moment, requiring thought, representation, and preservation. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, the invention of new forms of expression and representation aimed at capturing the various dimensions of the present. On one hand, the period witnessed the emergence of notions such as ‘modern’ and ‘contemporary’, which prompted a rethinking of the relationships between Northwestern European languages, literatures, and cultural identities—from interlinguistic dialogue and cultural transfer to tension, contestation, and rupture. On the other hand, artists began to depict the world « from life », capturing reality in motion—from the ruptures of disasters to personal portraits and the rhythm of daily life. This research hub will focus on how the present was perceived and represented between the 14^th and 17^th centuries through Northwestern European different languages, literary and visual arts. Five subprojects analyze the concepts of modernity and contemporaneity as criteria for evaluating linguistic norms and literary canons in French, Dutch, German, and English; the new modes of portraiture, the narratives and images of disasters, the capturing of the « live moment » and new ways of grasping everyday life in visual arts.

Current Research Projects