Strategies of self-representation. Noble residences in the Low Countries during the sixteenth century (1477-1635).

We aim to study the architecture of the high nobility in the Low Countries during the long Habsburg sixteenth century. The noble residence represents power, ancestral lineage, and social prestige to the informed observer; its space and form thus carry multiple meanings. The noble way of life was essentially nomadic, mirroring the constant migration of the court from its main residence city, Brussels, throughout the whole of the Low Countries, corresponding with the seasons of hunting and war, pleasure and politics, birth, marriage and death. Thus the palace in the city connects with the castle in the rural domains from which the nobles derive their title, and with the suburban villa used for pleasure, in one integrated system or network, forming a unique cultural landscape. Our main case-study will be the residences of the Croÿ, later Arenberg, family.

Keywords:Architectural history, early modern history, Habsburg nobility

Disciplines:Architectural engineering, Architecture, Interior architecture, Architectural design, Art studies and sciences, Visual arts, History