The Brussels painter Adam Frans Van der Meulen (1632-1690) created quite a furore at the court of the French King Louis XIV (1638-1715) when he immortalised his military triumphs, embellished with the necessary pomp and bravado. However, the work depicting the royal couple’s en ...
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Would you like to tinker with vehicles? Give tractors and cranes a lick of paint? Do you like to document heritage or build models? Do you have a passion for the port and would like to share it with others? For our maritime and logistics heritage sub-collection of more than 1,200 ...
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Oliver Claes has now been working as a paper and book conservator for more than a decade and is currently in charge of the conservation of the topographical and historical book collection from The Phoebus Foundation collection. For the last couple of months, Oliver’s work i ...
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During the month of September, we will open the doors of our warehouse ‘De Argentin’ for Heritage Day Flanders! This special day is one of the biggest cultural events in Flanders with hundreds of unique monuments throughout the region opening their doors to the public ...
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Little was known about portraits of pregnant women. Moreover, it was assumed that Southern Netherlandish portraits of mothers-to-be did not exist at all. Until now! Thanks to archival and cultural-historical research, dr Leen Kelchtermans and dr Katharina Van Cauteren were able t ...
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In July, we welcomed a new Phoebus Fellow into our conservation studio: the French-Dutch painting restorer Annika Roy. For the next three months, Annika is taking care of Hendrick De Clerck’s Noli me tangere. “This painting, dated between 1560 and 1630, depicts a fam ...
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Within portraiture, children's portraits are a special genre. The representations of boys and girls, dressed in lavish attire and in a stately and serious pose, don't immediately catch the eye and even look odd at first glance. But in fact, they house a particularly interesting, ...
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Find out more about the work of Brussels artist Gillis Van Tilborgh in A third self-portrait by Gillis Van Tilborgh. This iconographic and comparative analysis by Phoebus researcher Dr. Leen Kelchtermans and chief of staff Dr. Katharina Van Cauteren reveals the existence of a th ...
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At The Phoebus Foundation’s restoration studio, conservator Carlos González Juste and former Phoebus Fellow, Kaisa-Piia Pedajas, are currently restoring a unique series from the Phoebus collection, namely twelve portraits of Inca emperors and Francisco Pizarro. This month, ...
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In this ‘Phoebus Focus’ episode, chief of staff of The Phoebus Foundation, Dr Katharina Van Cauteren, sheds light on the various meanings and motifs behind the painting ‘Susanna and the Elders’ by the Brussels artist Hendrick De Clerck. With her expertise ...
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Leonora Carrington’s work, The Dark Night of Aranoë is part of the Latin American sub-collection of The Phoebus Foundation. Restorer Naomi Meulemans is in charge of the foundation’s modern and contemporary collections and started the restoration of this wor ...
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With Koen Fillet and art historian Peter J.H. Pauwels In this Phoebus Focus episode, we take a closer look at the oeuvre of Frits Van den Berghe. Based on the Coming Home. Flemish Art 1880-1930 publication, art historian Peter J.H. Pauwels highlights the artist’s strikingly ...
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This month, we go behind the scenes with twin sisters Jill and Ellen Keppens, who are currently restoring the seventeenth-century portrait of a nobleman from the Volpi family with his wife and children. “A while ago, we were introduced to the Volpi family. This intriguing f ...
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You have probably heard or read about it by now. However, we are still extremely excited about the latest addition to the Phoebus collection: the 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, also known as Trinity. Measuring 11.6 metres in length, 3.9 metres in height and with ...
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This month, Chief Conservator of The Phoebus Foundation Sven Van Dorst tells us about the conservation treatment of The Crucifixion panel by Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy. He masterfully describes how this work was created, where the stylistic influences come from, ...
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With Koen Fillet and art historian Prisca Valkeneers This work by Frans Ykens is a perfect example of how things are not always what they seem. At first glance, the scene might appear to be a simple still life, but upon closer inspection, the painting reveals a whole world of int ...
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With Koen Fillet and Dirk Imhof, former curator of books and archives at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp. In this Phoebus Focus episode, Dr Dirk Imhof outlines the context and significance of Christophe Plantin’s Biblia Regia on vellum, one of the most impressive book ...
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Parents and children can enjoy a unique visit to The Phoebus Foundation sub-collection of Maritime and Logistic Heritage this year. ‘Sparrow beaks’, ‘pig ears’, ‘crabs’, the transport of wild animals, the ‘nation’s horses’ and ...
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With Koen Fillet and Marjan Debaene, sculpture specialist and Head of Collections at M Leuven. In this Phoebus Focus episode, sculptor Jan Borman II gets the recognition he deserves thanks to sculpture specialist and Head of Collections at M Leuven Marjan Debaene. The artist an ...
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This month, we take you behind the scenes with Sofia Hennen, paintings conservator and art historian, who recently restored the work titled Tavern Interior by Pieter Pietersz from our collection. “The conservation-restoration treatment of Tavern Interior by Pieter Piete ...
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Our graphic designer Paul Boudens received the prestigious Henry van de Velde Lifetime Achievement Award this month! Within the last three decades, Paul has become a household name in Belgian fashion and design. With his singular approach to design, he achieved great success nati ...
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With Koen Fillet and Sven Van Dorst, head of conservation at The Phoebus Foundation studio Daffodils, pink roses, an orange lily, tulips, bright blue irises … The variety of flowers and the bright colours is overwhelming and almost splashes off this little panel. This compo ...
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With Koen Fillet and Timothy De Paepe, director of Museum Vleeshuis. In this Phoebus Focus episode, we dive behind the mysterious portrait of the musician Henricus Liberti by Anthony Van Dyck. Director of Museum Vleeshuis, Timothy De Paepe, outlines a brief history of the man who ...
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This month, we take you behind the scenes with Brian Richardson, a specialist in the conservation and restoration of wooden objects and furniture. Brian recently worked on an unusual installation by contemporary Flemish artist Wim Delvoye, which consists of a display case contain ...
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With Koen Fillet and Leen Kelchtermans, researcher of The Phoebus Foundation Who is this young lady, and by whom was she so accurately portrayed? In this episode, researcher of The Phoebus Foundation, Leen Kelchtermans, unravels the mystery behind this seventeenth-century portrai ...
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Our brand-new art project for kids is finally here: ‘Wat is Kunst?’ (What is Art?) or WIK! WIK is an interactive art platform for kids from the ages of 8 to 12. In several comical vlogs focusing on art questions, presenter Leonard and his virtual assistant JOS take yo ...
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At first glance, this artwork seems to depict a winter scene with happy children playing in the snow, but upon closer inspection, we discover that nothing is what it looks like. In this episode of Phoebus Focus, Koen Fillet talks with art historian Inge Misschaert about Ghent etc ...
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Discover the latest episode of the KLARA radio programme Berg en Dal with Pat Donnez and none other than Dr Katharina Van Cauteren, Chief of Staff of The Phoebus Foundation! (in Dutch)
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In this episode of ‘Phoebus Focus’, you will discover everything about the garden of Eden, political propaganda, Archdukes Albrecht and Isabella, and the gardens of the Coudenberg Palace. But what do they all have to do with each other? Dr Katharina Van Cauteren, chie ...
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Discover our upcoming art project for children: What is Art? (‘Wat is Kunst?’) Or WIK! That’s right! We are developing a great interactive art platform for children aged 8 to 12. Through several comic vlogs focusing on art questions, presenter Leonard, known fro ...
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Collection Consultant Katrijn Van Bragt and Conservator Naomi Meulemans take you along on their journey to Sudbury, Suffolk (UK), for the installation of the Painting Flanders exhibition at Gainsborough’s House! Katrijn and Naomi made sure more than 40 masterpieces by Emile C ...
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This month, we dive into Camille Polkownik’s new article ‘An examination of a group of works related to Albrecht Dürer’s trip to the Netherlands’, in: Hamilton Kerr Institute, Bulletin, 9 (2022): 87-102. Among other things, the article examines a portrait from ou ...
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This month, we take you behind the scenes of our conservation studio, where a new Phoebus Fellow joined the team for three months: Clara Bondia (ES)! Clara tells you more about her projects at The Phoebus Foundation: “On the one hand, I am studying and working on an 18th-ce ...
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With Koen Fillet and Leen Kelchtermans, researcher of The Phoebus Foundation In this episode of Phoebus Focus, you will learn everything about religious women and their devotion, but also about Catholic and dynastic power plays. Phoebus researcher Leen Kelchtermans and Koen Fille ...
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With Koen Fillet and Timothy De Paepe, director of Museum Vleeshuis. In this episode, Timothy De Paepe peels the layers of a late sixteenth-century scene, as if it were an onion. If you look superficially, you see what the title of the work promises: elegantly dressed figures cel ...
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This month we are captivated by the new study of Dr Leen Kelchtermans and Dr Katharina Van Cauteren published in the international peer-reviewed journal devoted to Dutch and Flemish art, Simiolus. From drawings to comprehensive work of art: a reconstruction of Jacob JordaensR ...
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Our exhibition Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools at the Denver Art Museum is getting closer! However, preparations for such a large-scale project involve a lot of work. Our colleague Laura Geudens is happy to take you behind the scenes. “As I have a conservation and restor ...
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With Koen Fillet and Leen Kelchtermans, researcher of The Phoebus Foundation War, insecurity, refugees, and economic crisis are just a few suspiciously familiar-sounding keywords that marked the 17th century. Peter Snayers specialised in painting war scenes. Besides large canvase ...
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Our Crazy about Dymphna exhibition has been extended until the 2nd of October! For those who have not found the opportunity yet to get to know the remarkable Saint Dymphna and the impressive altarpiece by Goossen Van der Weyden, you have three more weeks to get to Geel! Than ...
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This month, we had the honour and pleasure of welcoming Dr Andrea Seim to The Phoebus Foundation’s art conservation studio. With her exceptional knowledge and research in dendrochronology – the scientific method of dating annual rings of trees (also called growth ring ...
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Conservator Naomi Meulemans looks over the shoulder of CoBrA artist Karel Appel with the work 'Bird' (1954). Like no other, she is able to unlock secrets from the materiality of the paint. The author dissects Appel's painting layer by layer. The outcome is somewhat sobering. Were ...
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Our sub-collection of Latin American art is also undergoing conservation treatments! Phoebus Conservator Naomi Meulemans is happy to take you behind the paint layers of Amorphous Figures by Chilean artist Roberto Matta (1911-2002). ...
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The portrait of Elisabeth Jordaens may seem charming at first sight, but it also raises many questions. Who was Elisabeth Jordaens? When did her father, the famous Jacob Jordaens, paint her portrait and why does she look like a peasant girl? In this episode, Jordaens expert Leen ...
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You may have noticed… Our loan activities do not stand still! Moreover, ever since the end of the (worst) Covid-19 pandemic, we have a particularly large number of artworks that are leaving our warehouse on a short or longer journey to be presented in Belgium and abroad. Fo ...
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Fall will be exciting... Because The Phoebus Foundation is going to the USA!
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The life of Saint Dymphna reads like a fairy tale! The life story of this remarkable saint appeals so much to the imagination that Goossen Van der Weyden (1465-1538), grandson of the famous Rogier, painted an altarpiece, consisting of eight panels, with an episode from the life o ...
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Meet our new Phoebus Fellow: Alexandra Taylor! All the way from New Zealand, Alexandra joined our conservation team last month. She will assist our conservators in various projects for the next three months. Alexandra immediately started with the treatment of Jan Miel’s Figure ...
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Never heard of Maerten De Vos (1532-1603)? In sixteenth-century Antwerp he may have been a superstar, but today his fame is far less than that of, for example, Peter Paul Rubens. In this episode, Hildegard Van de Velde, curator of the Snijders&Rockox House Museum, introduces you ...
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With Koen Fillet, Katrijn Van Bragt (Collection Consultant) and Sven Van Dorst (Chief Conservator) of The Phoebus Foundation The Study of a Young Woman (c.1649-1659) by the Brussels artist Michaelina Wautier appears at first sight to be an ordinary study. Nothing could be further ...
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Crazy about Dymphna opened a month ago in Geel! Project coordinator Niels Schalley is happy to tell you more about the construction and installation of this fascinating exhibition: “After a two-year delay because of Covid-19, it was fantastic to finally be abl ...
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From April 1 onwards, we bring Goossen Van der Weyden’s exceptional Dymphna altarpiece to the place where it all began: Geel! With Crazy about Dymphna, The Phoebus Foundation is showing the altarpiece with the life of Saint Dymphna by Goossen Van der Weyden, grandson of the fam ...
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Koen Fillet and Sven Van Dorst dive into the wonderful world of flowers of the Antwerp Jesuit and superstar Daniel Seghers (1590-1661). Seghers worked with Peter Paul Rubens, Cornelis Schut, Gonzales Coques and Erasmus II Quellinus. The highest-ranking nobles queued up for his fl ...
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Discover the Antwerp superstar Jacob Jordaens like never before and be surprised by the stories behind his ingenious and sometimes witty paintings. What’s more: in the reconstruction of his showroom, you can actually visit the master at home! In cooperation with the Frans H ...
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Conservators Titania Hess and Laura Guilluy take you behind the scenes of the Phoebus conservation studio! ‘Christ Triumphiant, by Jacob Jordaens, has undergone a full restoration treatment! As the painting was relined during a previous treatment, the canvas was in excellen ...
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The sun is shining, the Covid-19 measures have (almost) disappeared,… ideal for a trip to Haarlem! Until May 8, you can admire At Home with Jordaens at the Frans Hals Museum: the first monographic exhibition of the seventeenth-century Antwerp master Jacob Jordaens in the Ne ...
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We start this new year with launching exciting conservation projects at the Phoebus conservation studio! Naomi Meulemans, conservator of the modern and contemporary sub-collections, oversees the restoration campaign of the installation Los Muñecos, created in 1960 by Italian-Arg ...
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Why does Hans Memling paint every detail with such precision? How did Rubens manage, with a few brushstrokes, to create an effect that would have made Steven Spielberg jealous? And why were the Southern Netherlands the artistic centre of the world for three centuries? From Memlin ...
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As usual at The Phoebus Foundation, conservation and research go hand in hand. A beautiful example is The Virgin of the Candlelight, an anonymous Peruvian work on canvas from the 18th century which is part of the collection Latin-American art from the Colonial period. Conservator ...
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For the exhibition James Ensor in Kunsthalle Mannheim (DE), conservator Naomi Meulemans travelled in 2021 as a courier to Germany to help with the installation of no less than 5 artworks that The Phoebus Foundation gave in loan for this project. The work of the Belgian artist Jam ...
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Phoebus Fellow Anna Rota (IT) is happy to offer you a glimpse behind the scenes of her conservation project at The Phoebus Foundation: ‘Despite its small size (25 x 25 cm), this painting by the studio of Joos Van Cleve (1485-1541), immediately attracts our attention. The un ...
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Art historian Anne-Rieke van Schaik (NL) focused during het fellowship on the sub-collection Topography and Cartography. Anne-Rieke is glad to give an insight in her Phoebus Fellowship program: ‘Early modern media, the narrative qualities of cartography, and the intertwinin ...
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Time flies! After more than seven months, we said goodbye to the city of Tallinn at the end of November 2021, where we organized the exhibitions From Memling to Rubens and Crazy about Dymphna at the Kadriorg Museum and the Niguliste Museum. It was such an honour to travel abroad ...
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With isolations and quarantines, the end of the coronapandemic does not seem to be in sight. Even our paintings of the famous Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) in Haarlem had to go into lockdown for a few weeks. Fortunately, we have great news: the At home with Jordaens exhibition ...
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Collection registration and beautiful books don’t exist without perfect images. Take a look behind the scenes of our photo studio where our photographers capture various artworks with their lenses. Michel is happy to tell you more about this fascinating and challenging task. Is ...
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Discover a very special part of The Phoebus Foundation’s collection: Maritime and Logistic Heritage! A team of enthusiastic volunteers is in charge of the daily routine of this extraordinary collection. As retired dockworkers with a passion for heritage they know this collectio ...
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Take a look behind the scenes at the restoration treatment of one of the oldest oil paintings from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation. Dating from c.1418-25, the artwork is even older than the famous Ghent Altarpiece by the brothers van Eyck (1432). Consisting of four panel ...
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The many portraits from the Middle Ages to the early modern period from The Phoebus Foundation collection formed the ideal starting point for the fascinating story of the history of portraiture. In 2020, The Phoebus Foundation, in cooperation with the Museum Snijders&Rockox H ...
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In 2018, the Chancellery of The Phoebus Foundation introduced the public to a new sub-collection. Fox Hunt was not just any exhibition: it comprised a cycling and presentation circuit devoted to the legend of Reynard the Fox. The wide-ranging Reynard collection was presented in t ...
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With ROOTED, The Phoebus Foundation devoted an exhibition in 2017 to Flemish art between 1880 and 1930. In the leading role? The most influential painters of the period: Emile Claus, Valerius De Saedeleer, Gustave Van de Woestyne, George Minne, James Ensor, Léon Spilliaert, Rik ...
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The Phoebus Foundation, in collaboration with the Province of East Flanders, organized its very first exhibition in 2016 at the Caermersklooster Provincial Cultural Centre in Ghent. It marked the Chancellery’s first appearance as a new player in the field of old masters. The B ...
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A spin-off of the exhibition The Bold and the Beautiful took place in Museum Vleeshuis. On the second floor you could admire three tasty paintings by Frans Snijders from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation in a surprising presentation by Walter Van Beirendonck.
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Especially for At home with Jordaens, various works by Jacob Jordaens underwent an extensive conservation treatment. Conservators Jill and Ellen Keppens take you behind the paint layers of The Sleeping Antiope Approached by Jupiter (1660). ‘This painting reminded us of an o ...
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Lace can have an old-fashioned reputation at times, but in 2019 the Chancellery of The Phoebus Foundation brought this centuries-old luxury textile very much to life. The Phoebus Foundation collaborated with the City of Aalst, the Jan De Nul and Van de Velde companies and with Wi ...
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Meet Myriam De Saedeleer: lace expert and manufacturer from a striking family of lace producers. In the context of the exhibition Lace is More, Myriam tells her unique story.
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Flemish fashion guru Jani Kazaltzis visits the exhibition Lace is More! together with curator Katharina Van Cauteren and discovers the surprising history of lace.
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Caudry, in the north of France, is the world centre of the lace industry, along with Calais. The region has six active companies, which export 80% of their production worldwide, mainly for haute couture and the luxury segment of ready-to-wear clothing. The excellence of the craft ...
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In 2019, The Phoebus Foundation organised Lace is More!: an opulent exhibition that introduced visitors to five centuries of cultural history. It focused on lace clothing and accessories as true status symbols, which were often passed on from mother to daughter, or from father to ...
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