A new online database of Flemish art in Spanish collections was launched last month. ‘Flemish Art in Spain’ is an initiative of the Instituto Moll in Madrid and the Fondation Périer-D’Ieteren in Brussels, and is developed by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid.
The database currently contains approximately 200 works of art, the majority of which are paintings. Additionally, the project includes a small number of drawings, sculptures, tapestries, stained glass windows, and decorative objects. These works are associated with 130 locations where works by Flemish artists have been or are currently housed, including churches, monasteries, museums, and private collections.
Objects can be explored by using an interactive map or accessed by artist, medium or school.
Since 2020, the Instituto Moll and the Fondation Périer-D’Ieteren have been carrying out a research program aimed at identifying and studying the art of the southern Netherlands from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries preserved in Spanish collections. By focusing on paintings from 1400 to 1700, this project aims to address a long-standing research need expressed as early as the 1950s. Recent scholarship and museum catalogues have enabled the study of previously overlooked or unpublished Flemish paintings in Spanish collections, significantly contributing to the database’s creation.
In addition to the new website, the project also organizes annual conferences dedicated to Flemish art in Spain, the proceedings of which are published. The next conference will take place in Brussels on 28 November 2025 and focuses on Flemish sculpture in Spain. The call for papers is currently open.
Visit Flemish Art in Spain at www.flemishartinspain.com.