Stefan Huygebaert is an art historian and a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University’s Department of Art History, Musicology and Theatre Studies, within the research Group ThIS – The Inside Story. His main research focus is the art of the long nineteenth-century. In May 2019, he defended his FWO-funded PhD thesis on the iconology of law in nineteenth century Belgium. This research, scrutinizing how the notions of ‘law’ and ‘justice’ were communicated and legitimated via art towards the Belgian population, was conducted within Ghent University’s Ghent Legal History Institute and Department of Art History, Musicology and Theatre Studies, and at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max-Planck-Institut). Since October 2019, Stefan scrutinizes picturesqueness and symbolism in fin-de-siècle portrayals of cities like Bruges as a FWO post-doctoral researcher. His key scientific interests are art history of the long nineteenth century, legal iconology, artistic revivalism, symbolism, the picturesque, postcard studies, and the city of Bruges.
