The Story of a Girl who Drove a Medieval City Mad

The story of the Irish princess Dymphna reads like a tragic fairy tale. When her mother dies, her father the king asks her to marry him. Maddened by grief at the loss of his wife, he decides his daughter would be the perfect replacement. But Dymphna bravely rebuffs his proposal and flees to the Continent, eventually finding her way to Geel in the Kempen region of what is now Belgium. The king tracks Dymphna down and beheads his rebellious daughter with his own hands. All the same, the princess’s courageous resistance made her hugely popular amongst local people, and before long she was proclaimed a saint. From the High Middle Ages onwards, pilgrims flocked to Geel, where Dymphna was venerated as a protector of the mentally ill. Her martyrdom led to a centuries-long tradition of care, mercy and charity. Geel is known to this day for its extensive care network and its unique approach to psychiatric patients, who are placed in the homes of local residents.

At the height of Dymphna’s cult Goossen Van der Weyden – grandson of the celebrated painter Rogier Van der Weyden – created an exceptional masterpiece: a monumental altarpiece made up of scenes depicting the Irish saint’s life and martyrdom. It was painted around 1505 for the Norbertine monks of Tongerloo Abbey, who gave it a prominent place in their church.

The Dymphna Altarpiece was recently acquired by The Phoebus Foundation and subjected to a large-scale conservation project lasting over three years. History had been extremely hard on the painting: in its five hundred years of existence, the masterpiece was cut down, neglected, vandalized, stolen and simply forgotten. A team of conservation specialists from The Phoebus Foundation has collaborated intensively with experts from Belgium and abroad to restore the work to its original glory. Discover the exceptional stories, forgotten for centuries, that unfolded beneath those layers of dust and dirt. An interactive scenography totally immerses you in Dymphna’s extraordinary world.

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In cooperation with the Frans Hals Museum, The Phoebus Foundation presents the exhibition At home with Jordaens: the first monographic exhibition of the seventeenth-century Antwerp master Jacob Jordaens in the Netherlands.

Where the Northern Netherlands had Frans Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer, in the Southern Netherlands they had their own Great Three: Jordaens, Rubens and Van Dyck. This exhibition focuses on Jacob Jordaens, with his great flair, worldliness, individuality and typicalities.

Jordaens made portraits, historical scenes and genre paintings until well into his old age. His next of kin were often a source of inspiration to him. His home served as his showroom and the room where he received his – wealthy – clients was spectacularly decorated with his own work. Especially for this exhibition a reconstruction of that reception room will be made in the Frans Hals Museum, which enables visitors to feel as if they were ‘at Jordaens’ home’ for a moment, surrounded by many works that have never been shown together before.

The Golden Age of Flanders

The Chancellery of 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 Birth of Capitalism drew visitors back to the Golden Age of the Southern Netherlands (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries). It painted a picture of the economic power of the County of Flanders and the Duchy of Brabant – important technological, industrial and commercial centres of the then known world, and cast a fresh light on an economic and cultural highpoint.

The exhibition devoted to the ‘Silicon Valley of the Middle Ages’ attracted some 70,000 visitors, including the Belgian royal family.

Painting Flanders 1880-1930

A year after its first successful exhibition, the Chancellery presented another part of The Phoebus Foundation collection to the public. The stars of this event devoted to Flemish art between 1880 and 1930 were the period’s most influential painters: Emile Claus, Valerius De Saedeleer, Gustave Van de Woestyne, George Minne, James Ensor, Léon Spilliaert, Rik Wouters, Frits Van den Berghe, Constant Permeke, Gust. De Smet, Hubert Malfait and Edgard Tytgat. The exhibition focused on a tipping point in Flemish artistic and cultural history and transported visitors back to the early twentieth century. But ROOTED was different and groundbreaking too. It was also about the present day and what it means to be Flemish, given that the boundary between past and present is gossamer-thin.

This exhibition offered an insight into the history of Flemish art, with particular attention paid to the things that motivated its artists: how was art perceived by makers ‘from round here’? Did Flemish history influence their outlook on art? How do contemporary artists from the region view this evolution?

The exhibition was compiled from art works belonging to The Phoebus Foundation collection, supplemented by loans from various artists. The lower storey was given over entirely to temporary exhibitions of work by young guest artists.

The Chancellery of The Phoebus Foundation has been working with the Keizerskapel (Emperor’s Chapel) in Antwerp since 2017.

Every six months, a new and unknown jewel from the collection is presented at this unique location. An edition of Phoebus Focus tells the story of the masterpiece and its author gives a lecture.

The following works have been exhibited to date:

1. Unknown master, St Luke Painting the Virgin, c.1520-30
2. Daniël Seghers, Vase of Flowers with Roses, Narcissi and Tulips, c.1630-40
3. Peter Snayers, Travellers Attacked by Robbers, c.1640-50
4. Adriaen Isenbrandt, Triptych with the Immaculate Conception, c.1500

The wide-ranging Reynard collection was presented in the form of a ‘cultural expedition’ through the medieval fable, which took visitors on a 40 or 60 km cycle tour of the Waasland region of Flanders and Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands. In the course of this experiential circuit, visitors discovered the medieval tale of the crafty fox in a playful and accessible way. A piece of cultural history was made exceptionally accessible through magnificent works of art and sets, mischievous films and ultra-modern animations, not to mention an exciting treasure hunt.

With total visitor numbers of around 60,000, Fox Hunt was the third successful project in a row staged by the Chancellery of The Phoebus Foundation.

Five Centuries of Cultural History Undressed

Aalst and the municipality of Moorsel, Water Castle, Saint Martin’s Church and Saint Gudula Chapel

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 Willy Michiels and Jozef Dauwe to organize a sensual and piquant exhibition devoted to lace.

Lace is More! offered a historical survey of lace production from the sixteenth century to the present, while also surprising visitors with contemporary lace artworks. A selection of masterpieces from the old master collection combined with textile fragments, contemporary art and haute couture told the unique story of this home-grown Flemish luxury product. Lace is inextricably linked with the history of Flanders. Nowhere in the world do these precious family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, have such a unique character as here.

Lace is More! exceeded all expectations, drawing more than 80,000 visitors in the course of five months. Lace has never been so vibrant.

In Flemish Portraits

The many portraits in The Phoebus Foundation collection from the Middle Ages to the early modern era formed the ideal starting point from which to tell the fascinating story of portrait art.

The historical Snyders&Rockox House Museum offered the perfect setting, in which visitors could admire the portraits in their natural habitat, in a surprising scenography by the celebrated Antwerp fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck. The exhibition was hosted by the sixteenth-century Antwerp mayor and art collector Nicolas Rockox himself, and featured artists like Quinten Metsys, Frans Floris, Jan Van Hemessen,

Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, Jan Cossiers and Jan Boeckhorst. A walking route through Antwerp took visitors to various historical locations, at which they could discover the different aspects of portrait art. The Keizerskapel (Emperor’s Chapel), located opposite the Snyders&Rockox House Museum, was the ideal setting in which to view medieval, religiously inspired portraits and triptychs with the likeness of their donors; Saint Charles Borromeo’s Church on Hendrik Conscienceplein was the place to see moving children’s portraits; and the Vleeshuis Museum demonstrated through the monumental paintings of Frans Snyders that early modern people were as keen on gastronomy as they were on fashion.

The Kadriorg is nothing less than an architectural gem. The recently restored palace was built between 1718 and 1725 for the Russian Tsar Peter the Great. He named the building and its idyllic surroundings ‘Kadriorg’ – in German: Catharinenthal – in honour of his wife, Czarina Catharina. It’s a true declaration of love: the Kadriorg is considered one of the most exquisite highlights of Baroque architecture in Northern Europe.

Tallinn was once the northernmost of all the Hanseatic cities. Today, the beautifully preserved medieval city is an ideal destination for a city trip. Moreover, a visit to Tallinn can easily be combined with a trip to the Finnish capital Helsinki, or with a diversion to the other Baltic States. In short: From Memling to Rubens offered you the best of all worlds!

The Story of a Girl Who Drove a Medieval City Mad

Following several years of intensive research, The Phoebus Foundation has embarked on a large-scale conservation project: the magisterial St Dymphna Altar, a masterpiece by Goossen Van der Weyden, grandson of the celebrated Flemish Primitive painter Rogier Van der Weyden. Goossen created the altarpiece for Abbot Antoon Tsgrooten of the Norbertine Abbey in Tongerlo. It tells the tragic story of Dymphna, an Irish princess and patron saint of the mentally ill, who is venerated in the town of Geel, in the Kempen region of Flanders.

In the five hundred years since it was painted, the altarpiece has been cut down, neglected, vandalized, stolen and forgotten. The Phoebus Foundation recently decided to go ahead with a thorough restoration, the results of which can now be presented to the public.

In 2021 the panels were being hosted by Niguliste Museum in Tallinn (Estonia), where an interactive scenography immersed the visitor in the Irish saint’s extraordinary world. Visitors could discover the exceptional stories, forgotten for centuries, that unfolded beneath the layers of dust and dirt, while experiencing the unique history of a monumental altarpiece.