Information from Dr. De Bruyn, 24 March 2014
From April 5th until September 7th, Antwerp baroque painter Erasmus II Quellinus is on view in the Musée de Flandre in Cassel (France). Paintings from museums in Europe and America illustrate the importance of this prominent successor of P.P. Rubens. The first exhibition dedicated to this pictor doctus.
Editors of the catalogue are Sandrine Vézilier-Dussart (Musée de Flandre) and CODART-member dr. Jean-Pierre De Bruyn. Erasmus II Quellinus (1607-1678) worked with Rubens in the 1630’s (e.g. Achilles-series, the decoration of the Torre de la Parada) and from the 1640’s became one the most prominent representatives of baroque-classicism in the Southern Netherlands. With his brother, the sculptor Artus I Quellinus (1609-1668) he introduced the so-called ‘Quellinusstyle’ which can e.g. be admired in the Town Hall in Amsterdam. And which meant a clear counterweight to the so-called ‘Rubensstyle’ still ruling in Antwerp. Erasmus II Quellinus left us a high-quality oeuvre that found its way to leading museums in the U.S. and Europe. On loan for this exhibition are eye-catching (and representative) paintings from museums and private collections in e.g. Cincinnati, Madrid, Munich, Mannheim, Vaduz, Prague, Glasgow, Florence, Mannheim, Valenciennes, Lille, Tourcoing, Brussels, Antwerp. Including a high-quality selection of paintings illustrating Quellinus’ collaboration with flower-painters (Daniel Seghers, Jan-Philips van Thielen), animal-painters (Peter Boel, Jan Fyt) and genre-painters (Jan I van Kessel).
This exhibition obviously puts a new light on the innovating capacities of art in Antwerp following the disappearance of P.P. Rubens (1577-1640) and A. Van Dyck (1599-1641).
A beautifully illustrated catalogue in two languages (French, Dutch) is available. With essays and contributions by Sandrine Vézilier-Dussart, Jean-Pierre De Bruyn, Joost Vander Auwera, Alain Jacobs, Cécile Laffon and Baptiste Rigaux.