On the first page of his famous book, Thomas More describes

Utopia as a Libellus vere aureas, a little true golden

book. This little book, published in Leuven in 1516, proved to become

one of the greatest works of socio-political analysis of all time; the

new spirit attached to More’s work continues to inspire, and was equally

the inspiration for the collection of essays presented in this book. The

present volume contains the proceedings of the conference Imaging

Utopia: New Perspectives on Northern Renaissance Art. In this book,

several leading experts in the field of art history reflect on the theme

Imaging Utopia in diverse and inventive ways. The result of these

scholarly reflections is as varied as the theme itself and examines such

topics as the work by Quinten Massys in the context of his relation with

Erasmus and More, the Utopian construction of the Prince Bishop’s Palace

of Liege, and City Portraits in religious iconography. A number of

entries discuss the art technical research on the important

sixteenth-century Enclosed Gardens of Mechelen.