BOZAR in Brussels announced the restoration of five works by Theodoor van Loon. A contemporary of Rubens, Van Loon is considered to be one of the first painters from the Southern Netherlands to be deeply influenced by the art of Caravaggio.
Four restorers of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) have been working on the restoration for over a year. Among other things, they discovered that Van Loon’s creative process is characterized by many alterations in the underdrawing as well as the painted surface.
Holy Trinity with Mary, St. John the Baptist and Angels before and after restoration
Photo: KIK/IRPA, Brussels
Four of the five restored canvases are from the Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Béguinage in Brussels, the other one is housed at the city’s Carmelite convent. The restored paintings will be presented at the exhibition Theodoor Van Loon: A Caravaggist Painter between Rome and Brussels, which is the first exhibition to be entirely dedicated to the artist. The exhibition opens on 10 October at BOZAR and is co-organized by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.
We will visit the exhibition during a CODARTfocus to Oudenaarde and Brussels which takes place on 2 and 3 December. For more information about this event see our upcoming events page.