Van Hemessen & Father brings together, for the first time, a broad overview of the sixteenth-century Van Hemessen family of artists. At its heart are Jan van Hemessen and his daughter Catharina, alongside the wider workshop around them. The exhibition sheds light on a family business in which painting, collaboration and artistic innovation were closely intertwined, while also giving particular attention to Catharina’s position as a female artist in the sixteenth century.

Three works by Jan Sanders van Hemessen from The Phoebus Foundation collection are included in the exhibition: Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (c. 1535), Portrait of a Nobleman (1543) and Susanna and the Elders (1543). Together, they show the remarkable range of his work, from densely populated religious scenes to a more restrained portrait. In Susanna and the Elders, his gift for powerful figures, expressive gestures and heightened drama comes especially to the fore. The painting was recently restored by The Phoebus Foundation’s conservation studio and is now being presented to the public again as part of the exhibition.

Van Hemessen & Father runs from 15 October 2026 to 31 January 2027 at Museum Snijders&Rockoxhuis in Antwerp. More information and tickets via snijdersrockoxhuis.be.

Want to know more about the restoration of Susanna and the Elders? Read the full story behind the treatment of the painting.