Dimitri Laboury, professor of art history and archaeology at the University of Liège, is the winner of the prestigious Jean and Marie-Françoise Leclant Prize for his pioneering research on Pharaonic art. Specializing in the study of ancient Egyptian artists, he has conducted a program devoted to the analysis of painters and painterly practices in the Theban Necropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for over fifteen years.
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or over fifteen years, Dimitri Laboury, a professor at the University of Liège, has devoted his research to a largely unknown figure in Egyptology: the ancient Egyptian artist. A specialist in the art of ancient Egypt, he has launched a vast program aimed at restoring these creators to their rightful place in the history of Pharaonic art within a culture that invested so much in artistic production. Dimitri Laboury has been granted with a Research Incentive Grant of the F.R.S.-FNRS to undertake a project in the heart of the Theban Necropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where he is particularly interested in painters and painterly practices in the elite necropolis of the 18th dynasty (around 1550-1292 BC).
This project, carried out in the framework of the Belgian Archaeological Mission to the Theban Necropolis (MANT), explores the funerary monuments of dignitaries of the reign of Amenhotep II. Dimitri Laboury and his team focus their research on three major tomb chapels: those of the vizier Amenemope, of the governor of Thebes, Sennefer, and of the royal vice-chancellor, Amenhotep, rediscovered in 2009 by the MANT. A meticulous analysis of the decoration in these tombs revealed that one and the same master artist, accompanied by his apprentice, was at work in tomb TT29, demonstrating a genuine artistic strategy on the part of the monument's patron. This study sheds new light on a complex organization of the artistic work, an organization in which learned artists and experts with a narrower range of skills collaborated to create a sophisticated decoration, integrating both images and writing.
Beyond these discoveries, Dimitri Laboury's work aims to create a fruitful dialogue between Egyptology and general art history. His innovative approach, combining field research and archaeological experimentation, sheds new light on Egyptian art, highlighting its historical and artistic significance.
In this drive to promote Egyptological research, the Jean Leclant Foundation, created in 2014 by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in tribute to Egyptologist Jean Leclant, plays a key role. Each year, it awards the "Jean and Marie-Françoise Leclant Prize" for work that has significantly enriched our knowledge of ancient Egypt and Sudan. Endowed with €10,000, this prize encourages the continuation of archaeological missions and the dissemination of results, enabling researchers like Dimitri Laboury to continue their invaluable contributions to our understanding of the heritage and history of ancient Egypt.
This prestigious prize highlights the importance of innovative research in the field of Egyptology, and significant contributions to the preservation and study of this exceptional heritage.
Every year, the University of Liège's Heritage Foundations award more than 80 prizes and grants to ULiège students and alumni. Several calls have just been launched, so don't hesitate to consult them! (only in French)
SCOPE, dedicated to developing more sustainable IT infrastructure, and ShuttleToBrain, which explores new approaches to improving the delivery of drugs to the brain. Two new IMR projects at ULiège.
Measuring seven metres in diameter and nearly fourteen metres in length, FOCAL 7 will be the CSL’s largest vacuum chamber, and one of the largest in Europe !
