TheoSensus

The project aims to initiate a global study on how the cultural background of Christian believers influences the manner in which theophanic phenomena are experienced and understood in the modern era (1500-1700). Christian history is filled with accounts of miraculous apparitions: during these events, God reveals Himself within the sensory sphere of the witnesses, compelling them to come to terms with the reality of this out-of-the-ordinary experience. The most renowned of these stories is undoubtedly that of the Resurrection, a miracle unfolding through the many appearances Christ made to his disciples. Upon each them, men and women were confronted with an event that defies all understanding: the return to life of a dead man; whom they could see, hear, and even touch. This research will draw on depictions of post-Resurrection apparitions from Italy and Flanders—two Catholic countries—as well as from the Dutch Republic. I will pay particular attention to the various ways artists represent the sensory interactions between Man and God. In doing so, I aim to show the crucial role played by the senses in a Christian society that has mainly been viewed as rejecting the involvement of the body in the faithful’s relationship with God. This project will thus contribute to recent research seeking to demonstrate that the senses are both a powerful and paradoxical means of ascending toward the divine. The image-based and comparative approach adopted in TheoSensus is innovative and will provide a better understanding of the different ways in which relations with God were conceived at a time characterized by profound religious, ideological and epistemic renewals. Ultimately, this study will explore the nuances existing in Christian’s practices and aspirations towards the divine, nuances based in part on cultural, social and/or gender criteria. 

Clara Zajdela 01/09/2026 - 31/08/2028