Information from the organisers, 17 October 2012
The exhibition Jordaens and the Antique organized by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels and the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel in Kassel brings new insights into the work of the great Flemish master, whose reputation has often been obscured by the shadow of Rubens and Van Dyck. The exhibition presents a new image of Jordaens as an innovative painter of antique subjects, whose approach was often more vital and down to earth than that of his renowned contemporaries. More on the exhibition venues here:
Two scholarly symposia focusing on different aspects of his oeuvre will accompany the exhibition.
The first, ‘Reframing Jordaens: Iconography & Interpretive Contexts’ will take place in Brussels on 6-7 December 2012. Organized by the two museums in cooperation with Dr Birgit Münch of the University of Trier, the symposium will examine new aspects of Jordaens’ approach to the antique, the relationship between word and image, and new insights into his workshop practice. The symposium will also present recent restorations carried out on works in the exhibition, and a unique opportunity to discuss the results with restorers in front of the paintings themselves.
The speakers for this symposium have already been selected. A programme is available here:
The second symposium, entitled ‘Reframing Jordaens: Origin – Transformation – Conservation’ will take place in Kassel on 6-7 May 2013. Organized by the German Association of Restorers (VDR) in cooperation with the two museums, it will focus in depth on recent technical investigations of the twelve works by Jordaens and his workshop preserved in Kassel, as well as on paintings in other collections. Since there will also be a parallel exhibition in Kassel on Jordaens and Modernity, a special section of the Kassel symposium will deal with the reception of Jordaens’ oeuvre by modern and contemporary artists.
A call for papers dealing with these topics is available here:
We look forward to seeing you in Brussels and Kassel.
Anne Harmssen, Justus Lange, Birgit Münch, Irene Schaudies, Joost Vander Auwera
Organizers of the two symposia
