"We create the Universe as much as it creates us." - Stephen Hawking & Thomas Hertog How did the Universe begin? Will it ever end? The cosmos and Man's place in it have fascinated humans for thousands of years. These mind-bending cosmic questions keep scientists awake at night, but also fuel the imagination and fantasy of artists. This unique book combines the insights of scientists and visual artists, offering a magnificent overview of the visualisation of the Universe from the Neolithic to the present. In addition, dozens of stunning modern and contemporary artworks engage in a dialogue with the Big Bang theory in its various forms. Professor Georges Lemaitre formulated his revolutionary theory about the origin of the Universe in 1931 at the University of Leuven. In 2021, our ideas about this Big Bang and the cosmos as a whole are still evolving. Our astonishment and desire to visualise what we are unable to comprehend fully, however, remain unchanged. With enlightening contributions from Barbara Baert, Abdelkader Benali, Thomas Hertog, Hannah Redler Hawes, Jan Van der Stock, Annelies Vogels, and others.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the acclaimed Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, this commemorative book presents masterpieces from the foundation's collection. The works span more than 400 years, from the 16th through the early 20th century, and feature a range of media including paintings, prints, and printed books. After a comprehensive introduction to the foundation and its collection, essays by eight scholars present new scholarship on key works. The featured objects include an image of the Madonna and Child by the Florentine painter Giuliano Bugiardini; Richard Wilson's iconic 18th-century composition The White Monk; printed materials in Venice that bridged Jewish and Christian cultures; and portraits by Paolo Veronese, Simon Vouet, and others. With more than 200 illustrations, this beautiful publication is a rich survey as well as a timely celebration of this exceptional collection. Distributed for the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

To Touch or Not to Touch? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Noli me tangere is based on studies which were originally written for an interdisciplinary conference entitled Noli me tangere. Word - Image - Context. The book contains eight contributions by internationally recognized specialists in the areas of philosophy (Marc De Kesel), exegesis (Esther de Boer, Erika Mohri, Turid Karlsen Seim and Reimund Bieringer), art history (Lisa Marie Rafanelli and Victor Schmidt) and literature studies (Hedwig Schwall). The collection is unique in its focus on the Noli me tangere and in its interdisciplinary nature. The narrowness of its subject, namely the prohibition of touch by the risen Christ addressed to Mary Magdalene is counterbalanced by the broadness of methodologies and approaches which are used to treat the subject. The book mirrors the many ways in which interpreters have wrestled with the topics of touch and its prohibition in the interpretation of noli me tangere in John 20:17.