Information from the organizer, 26 September 2016
The exhibition Brueghel. Masterpieces of Flemish Art at the Reggia di Venaria celebrates the most important group of Flemish artists between the 16th and the 17th centuries, who were the interpreters of the splendor of the Seventeenth century. Their dynasty has become a mark of excellence in pictorial art.
The artworks on display trace the history of five generations spanning more than 150 years between the 16th and the 17th centuries and offer an overview of the realist revolution heralded by Peter Brueghel the Elder, the brilliant head of the family. He was followed by his sons Pieter Brueghel the Younger – who met with the same success as his father with works like The Outdoor Wedding Dance (c. 1610) and Winter Landscape with a Bird Trap (1601) – and Jan Brueghel the Elder, also known as “Velvet Brueghel” for the extraordinary pictorial perfection of works like Landscape with Travelers and Peasants on a Track (1610).
The display also includes the beautiful version of the Three Graces (1635) by his son, Jan Brueghel the Younger together with Frans Wouters, and A Still Life of Fruit and Exotic Bird (1670) by Abraham (great-grandson of Pieter Breughel the Elder, specialized in still lives). Also on show are works by Marten van Cleve – who was deeply influenced by the head of the family – who between 1558 and 1560 completed the six works that make up the extraordinary Peasant Wedding series and offered a modern rendition of evangelical themes like the Parable of the Good Shepherd (1578).
The exhibition has been possible thanks to the collaboration of International museums, like the Anhaltische Gemaldegalerie Dessau Furstenberg-Stiftung and also thanks to the loan of some paintings by private institutions like Caretto & Occhinegro Gallery.
The exhibition is produced and organized by Arthemisia Group in the Rooms of the Arts of the Reggia di Venaria and curated by Sergio Gaddi and Andrea Wandschneider, Director of the Paderborn Städtische Galerie in der Reithalle.