In 1561, a major rhetorical festival was held in Antwerp with the central question: "Dwelck den mensche aldermeest tot consten verwect?" It became a self-conscious celebration of humanist knowledge and Renaissance art, not only by a small elite, but by broad groups within urban society. State censorship meant religious themes were avoided. Tensions rose, however, and in the 'Wonder Year' 1566, there was a major eruption. Iconoclasts (often ordinary men, women and youth, driven by Protestant rejection of the worship of religious objects) destroyed the interiors of most Antwerp churches with their tools.

This example shows that religious ideas and artistic conceptions in the early modern Netherlands were not confined to the ivory tower of scholars, artists or theologians. They were active and dynamic concepts appropriated in various social and political contexts by different actors, who gave them new meanings each time. This interaction between culture, religion and broader social developments is central to my research. The methodological starting point is a historical-anthropological approach to practices, rituals, objects, imagery and group cultures. The focus is on the geographical region of the Low Countries, but there is constant attention to similarities and differences with developments in other regions.