Image et dévotion domestique : enquête à partir de testaments tournaisiens du XVe siècle

Abstract

The analysis of a series of Tournaisian wills dating from the first half of the 15th century demonstrates that images could function in different ways. Mobile objects such as statues or altarpieces, once placed on an altar, contributed to delineating the space for prayer within the home and participated to the liturgical performance. But as figurative images, they also allowed worshippers to contemplate the sacred figures, which were not simply represented but made present through the material qualities of images such as polychromy or thanks to interaction with light. It is therefore necessary to deepen our understanding of what the historiography of domestic devotion terms the 'devotional function of images'.