In consultation with Han Lamers. Editorial assistance: Stephanie Heremans & Laura Tack

The essays collected in this volume explore how and by what means, from antiquity to the present day, the notion of ‘the right moment’ has been defined, visualized, and experienced. The authors approach the subject from a range of disciplines and often work at the intersection of several of them, including the history of art and architecture, philosophy and art theory, classics and comparative literature, the history of religion and theology, and anthropology. In addition to scholarly exposes, the book contains a number of personal musings and artistic reflections on ‘the right moment’ in various forms and kinds of imagination - visual, literary, and philosophical.

The Right Moment originates in a festive symposium held at the Francqui Foundation in Brussels on 18 and 19 October 2018 in honour of Barbara Baert, Laureate of the 2016 Francqui Prize in Human Sciences.

The statue of

lives, Barbara Baert wrote, and it lets its powers gently glow to the surface for those who recognize him. But for those who miss him, a sharp and bitter trail remains.

A celebratory publication with contributions by Inigo Bocken, Angelos Chaniotis, James Clifton, Johan De Groef, Ralph Dekoninck, Greti Dinkova-Bruun, Pierre-Antoine Fabre, Catherine Harper, Stephanie Heremans, Elisabeth Hsu, Mateusz Kapustka, Bianca Kuhnel, Han Lamers, W.J.T. Mitchell, Herman Parret, Miri Rubin, Hedwig Schwall, Davide Stimilli, Victor Stoichita, Stephane Symons, Laura Tack, Philippe Van Cauteren, Koenraad Van Cleempoel, Anne van Herreweghen, Pierre Van Moerbeke, Bart Verschaffel, and Marina Vicelja-Matijasic.