These portraits will be presented here together for the first time, along with complements from the Mauritshuis collection and a portrait by Jacob Jordaens from the Rijksmuseum.
In the Southern Netherlands (now Belgium), the art of portrait painting came into full bloom during the period from 1400 to 1700. During these three centuries, noblemen and wealthy citizens had themselves immortalised by the best Flemish artists of their time. These portraits remain very impressive due to the outstanding way in which the sitters’ facial features and the character were memorialised in paint.
Remarkably, almost all the sitters in this selection can be identified. This is why the exhibition will not only highlight what makes Flemish portraits so special, but also who appears in the pictures and the image they wanted to project. The striking portrait of Abraham Grapheus by the Antwerp-based portrait painter Cornelis de Vos has been restored specially for this exhibition, and will be on view in its refreshed state for the first time.
Sponsors
The exhibition Neighbours: Portraits from Flanders 1400–1700 was organised with the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) and made possible in part by the Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation, the BankGiro Lottery and a contribution from the estate of Mr G.A. den Hartog. The exhibition was supported by the Dutch government: an indemnity grant was provided by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands on behalf of the Minister of Education, Culture and Science.
Exhibition : Neighbours: Portraits from Flanders 1400–1700
Dates : 7 September 2017 through 14 January 2018
