| 6 Nov 2023 | 17:30 - 19:00 | Online | |
- Description
Description
An event by the Contemplation: theory/practice research network.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session will be online only. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Speakers
Ayla Lepine (St James’s Picadilly)
Abstract
Rev Dr Ayla Lepine
From 1898 to 1907, between the ages of 23 and 32, Evelyn Underhill travelled annually in France and Italy, making sketches and keeping a journal as she journeyed from place to place. These notebooks were published in 1949 with Longmans, Green and Co as Shrines and Cities of France and Italy: from an Early Diary of Evelyn Underhill. The watercolours and drawings she produced accompanied her theologically-infused descriptions of the works of art and architecture she encountered, focusing especially on medieval sacred spaces and their effects on visitors and worshippers, from Chartres to St Mark’s in Venice. This paper will explore the ways in which Underhill’s engagement with the visual arts in Europe shaped her explorations of mysticism and contemplation within her early twentieth-century novels including The Grey World (her debut as a novelist, in 1904) as well as her breakthrough theological study, Mysticism (published in 1911). From an early age, Underhill had the heart and mind not only of a theologian, but also an art historian and artist.
For enquiries please contact the Research Networks Programme Manager.
