CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

In this exhibition, the Museum Plantin-Moretus shows the 80 most beautiful old master drawings from Flemish collections. From scribble to cartoon: Drawings from Bruegel to Rubens (Van Crabbelinge tot Carton: Tekeningen van Bruegel tot Rubens) gives an astonishing and representative overview of the art of drawing in our regions in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In 2020, the Flemish government placed a large number of old master drawings on their masterpiece list, including rare artworks by Frans Floris, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, Jacques Jordaens, Otto van Veen, Jan Fijt and many more. The majority of these masterpieces are kept in the Museum Plantin-Moretus. The museum takes the official recognition of these drawings as masterpieces as an opportunity to put its unique collection in the spotlight. The exhibition presents an overview that illustrates who, why and how people drew in our regions in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The museum’s own collection forms the basis for this exhibition, but it is complemented by masterpieces from other Flemish public and private collections. It is a unique opportunity to see these masterpieces side by side. Several have never been shown to the public before, including the 10 meters long Panorama of Zeeland by Antoon van den Wijngaerde, the extremely rare Italy-sketchbooks by the sculptor Pieter Verbruggen and a newly discovered book-illustration design by Rubens for the Plantin Press. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication that visualizes and contextualizes the exhibition’s overview of Flanders’ most beautiful drawings.

The Museum Plantin-Moretus Museum is widely known as the original residence and workshop of the Plantin and Moretus publishing house, but it also holds one of the most important print rooms in the world. With this exhibition, the museum puts this particular collection, and those of other institutions in Flanders, in the spotlight internationally.