Pieter Bruegel

On Tuesday 29 October, the members of AG DUTCH & FLEMISH travelled to Brussels for an afternoon dedicated to Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

We met in the Belgian capital to visit the exhibition The World of Bruegel in Black and White at the KBR (Royal Library of Belgium). On the occasion of the 450th anniversary of Bruegel's death, Joris Van Grieken en Maarten Bassens curated an exhibition on the graphic works of the Flemish master. We are glad that Joris and Maarten took the time to guide us through the show. The exhibition is extremely elaborate, as it includes all prints after Bruegel and several of his design drawings. Our tour started off with a discussion of Bruegel's network and the several stages of the printmaking process, from design drawing to publication.

The exhibition continues with an exploration of the different genres and topics that Bruegel dealt with in his designs. This part is staged in the rooms of the 18th-century Palace of Charles of Lorraine, which were renovated for the occasion. The show concludes with examples of Bruegel's influence on printmakers and artists in other media.

The exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue. Bruegel in Black and White. The Complete Graphic Works not only includes entries on all prints after designs by Bruegel, but also contains several essays with new insights on the context in which he operated, the printing history of his plates, and the research history on his graphic output.

Congratulations to Joris and Maarten on this amazing project. The exhibition can be visited until 16 February 2020.