Team

Joost Caen

is professor emeritus of Conservation-Restoration at the University of Antwerp. He obtained his doctorate with a thesis on the historical materials and techniques of stained glass, entitled ‘The production of stained glass in the County of Flanders and the Duchy of Brabant from the XVth to the XVIIIth centuries: materials and techniques’. Since 1985, he has run his own studio for the creation and restoration of stained glass. His greatest artistic achievements include the stained-glass windows in the Abbey of Fonte Avellana (Italy), the Abbey of Echourgnac (France) and KartHuis (Leuven, Belgium). As a restorer, he works for important museums and monuments in Belgium and abroad. He is also the author of numerous articles and books on glass art. Furthermore, he is a member of the Corpus Vitrearum and the Flemish Commission for Immovable Heritage, as well as a Freeman of the London guild The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass.

“Sunlight is the source of life, and stained-glass windows use this light to have an even stronger impact on our sensory experience. In this way, the radiant effect of a stained-glass window can also have a healing effect on our body and mind, regardless of the image depicted.”

Liesbeth Langouche

studied Art History (UGent), writing her thesis on the Ghent glazier Camille Ganton-Defoin (1872-1946). Subsequently, she studied Conservation-Restoration of stained-glass windows (Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts). She completed this course with a thesis on the reconstruction of stained-glass windows in Art Nouveau and Art Deco ensembles. After years of practical experience as a restorer and researcher, she specialised in historical clear window glass. She obtained her PhD in Conservation-Restoration (University of Antwerp) on this subject with a thesis entitled 'The look of window glass. A social and cultural history of clear window glass from the 15th to the late 19th centuries in the Scheldt-Meuse-Rhine region'.

“My passion for stained-glass windows was initially sparked by the unique interplay between architecture, painting, colour and light. The combination of these elements is so much more than the sum of its parts. The windows derive their brilliance from the – changing – light and have a major influence on the perception of the architecture.”