Sophie is a freelance lecturer, researcher and author based in the Netherlands after many years living and working in the UK. She is Vice President of the Church Monuments Society and a regular guest lecturer for ICE at Madingley Hall. Born in Gouda (Netherlands), Sophie studied English literature at Leiden University and Medieval Studies at the University of York before completing her PhD in Art History at Leicester. She also has a second PhD in Middle English literature from Leiden.
Sophie has taught at the universities of Leicester, Manchester and St Andrews, Sotheby's Institute of Art, the V&A Museum, the Royal Academy and other organisations. During the period 2011-2013 she was Coordinator of Tomb Monuments for the MeMO (Medieval Memoria Online) project at Utrecht University, which resulted in the online MeMO database.
Sophie has published widely on her specialist research subjects: medieval art and iconography; sculpture, commemoration and tomb monuments; the image of the child in western art; death and the Danse Macabre, and different aspects of Netherlandish and Dutch art. Her publications include two co-edited volumes on medieval tomb monuments and on the Dance of Death, and a co-edited text edition of John Lydgate’s Dance of Death. She is currently working on a monograph and another co-edited volume.
Sophie delivers informal lectures with PowerPoint while encouraging class interaction through questions and discussion. She always provides extensive handouts with background information, e.g. on the historical context. Her aim is to instruct and inspire students about the art that she loves, in a lively and entertaining manner.
