The sixth exhibition of Het Kunstuur in Mechelen will run from the 13th of October 2023 till the 31st of April 2024. For more info and tickets, visit www.hetkunstuur.com/mechelen

On the 31st of March, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin celebrates the Ghent-born artist Hugo van der Goes. An actual premiere as almost all of the artist’s surviving paintings and drawings will be presented in one exhibition. As one of the most important names of the second half of the 15th century, van der Goes generated much admiration with their monumental pieces displaying an astonishing and emotional expressiveness.

Once again, visitors can discover two unique pieces from The Phoebus Foundation collection: van der Goes’ Descent from the Cross and Mary with Child and Saints Thomas, John the Baptist, Jerome and Louis.

Discover Hugo van der Goes. Between Pain and Bliss from the 13th of March to the 16th of July at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

Did you know countless Dutch masters were inspired by their southern neighbours? The influence of early modern artistic centres such as Antwerp on artists from the North cannot be underestimated. Time for an ode! With more than 80 works of art by resounding names such as Frans Hals, Maerten De Vos, Hendrick De Clerck and Peter Paul Rubens, this spring Museum Catharijneconvent highlights the important connections between the North and the South. With surprising dialogues as a result!

In the 16th century, Antwerp was the art and trade metropolis of Europe. Political and religious tensions ended all the glory in 1585. The Netherlands were split, the people of Antwerp fled and the prosperous epicentre moved towards the north. The exhibition Ode to Antwerp. The Secret of the Dutch Masters brings a unique perspective on this turbulent history and focuses on the immense influence on art and the art market that the fled Antwerpers took with them. Using large and colourful canvases and panels that are on display in the Netherlands for the first time, the exhibition highlights the enduring artistic interaction between the Southern and Northern Netherlands. Starring? More than 30 masterpieces from The Phoebus Foundation’s collection!

From the 24th of March, visitors of DIVA (museum of diamonds, jewelry, and silver) celebrate the long-awaited reopening of the museum but also admire this hair jewel crafted in gold and set with diamonds and rubies from The Phoebus Foundation collection. This unique piece is mounted on a spring, allowing diamonds to sparkle at the slightest head movement. Moreover, this hair jewelry features a horn-blowing monkey on a carriage, a popular feature during the 18th century.

The Bentvueghels. A notorious art society in Rome is a new exhibition at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht that tells the story of an artists group from the Northern and Southern Netherlands who came together in Rome at the beginning of the 17th century under the name The Bentvueghels. Among others, three works by Jan Miel from our collection will be on display there.

Info and tickets available on the website of Centraal Museum.

Thanks to the collaboration with the National Gallery of Ireland, the unique Dymphna altarpiece from The Phoebus Foundation collection will continue its travels to the homeland of princess Dymphna, namely Ireland. The new exhibition St Dymphna. The Tragedy of an Irish Princess. explores Dymphna’s tragic life story and her canonisation as a saint. The panels by Goossen Van der Weyden are unique pieces as they are the only known pieces from the 16th century exploring the life of St Dymphna.

From the 28th of January until the 28th of May 2023, you can admire Goossen Van der Weyden’s eight panels telling the intriguing story of one of the most intriguing Merovingian female figures.

For info and tickets, visit the website of National Gallery of Ireland.

We start our 2023 Travelling Treasures with a new loan that will be on display from the 21st of January at MSK Gent as part of the new exhibition titled Theodoor Rombouts, Virtuoso of Flemish Caravaggism.

Born in Antwerp during the late 16th century, Theodoor Rombouts is best known for his dynamic compositions depicting musical scenes, card-players and other merry characters enjoying their time. The work Cardplayers is exemplary of Rombouts’ style reminiscent of Caravaggio, encompassing a realistic yet spontaneous dimension.

Discover Cardplayers and other remarkable compositions by Theodoor Rombouts at MSK Gent from the 21st of January. Tickets and info available on the museum website.

Want to know more about the fascinating portrait of Henricus? Read our Phoebus Focus XXVII Portrait of Henricus Liberti, available in our online store!

Meet Anto-Carte (1886-1954)! A Mons artist who was a painter, lithographer and illustrator at the same time, he became known all over the world thanks to exhibitions in the United States, Spain and Italy.

With the exhibition Anto-Carte. Heaven and Earth, the BAM immerses you in the world of Anto-Carte, whose work weaves a fascinating link between the centuries. After all, the expertise of the great masters of painting is reflected in paintings painted in the first half of the 20th century by this internationally renowned artist from Mons.

80 works from public and private collections show Anto-Carte’s painting that focuses on the pursuit of the sacred. The artist revisited the classic themes of Christian iconography and at the same time honoured the grandeur of the peasant world in his works. You will also discover a fascinating work from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation !

Fans of armour will be in for a treat at Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna! In the exhibition Iron Men, you will discover the most beautiful suits of armour from the largest collections in the world. From paintings and sculptures to authentic, life-size armour: immerse yourself in a world of fashion and steel.

You will also discover an exceptional sculpture of Charles V in – literally – magnificent armour from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation.

Do you like modernist art? Mu.Zee in Ostend is your place to be! Moreover: you can discover Transatlantic modernisms! The exhibition tells the surprising story of the artistic connections between Belgium and Argentina from 1910 to 1958. The artists from both regions may have lived miles apart, their contacts and influences were particularly close. The friendship between artists Julio Payro and Paul Delvaux is one of the many examples of these artistic relations.

With no fewer than four loans, we are honoured to have contributed to this special project. Book your ticket now!

Did you know Antwerp was the capital of harpsichords between 1560 and 1660? With the exhibition Keyboard Instruments, the Snijders&Rockox House Museum and the Vleeshuis Museum take you back to the golden age of the Antwerp harpsichord.

At the Snijders&Rockox House Museum you can discover paintings by Frans Floris, Jacob Jordaens, Maerten de Vos, the Francken family and others, with Antwerp organs, harpsichords and virginals in the leading role. At the Vleeshuis Museum you can admire the harpsichords and virginals and unique painted harpsichord lids.

With no less than eight loans, including a newly discovered harpsichord lid by Frans II Francken, The Phoebus Foundation is honoured to be a partner of this special exhibition!

Today a name stands out from the Frankish dynasty, that of Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642) considered to be an outstanding artist. This contemporary of Rubens is distinguished by his unique, refined style, by the diversity of subjects he tackled and by his prolific output which flooded the Antwerp market. Trained by his father Frans the Elder, a renowned religious painter, he asserted his personality and taste for learning very early on: his works include multiple references to history and literature, and even esoteric sources. His fine artworks responded to the demands of the bourgeois wishing to demonstrate their knowledge: his success was immediate. A studio was then set up, a real commercial enterprise which called on famous collaborators from time to time such as Jan Brueghel and who also employed his brothers and sons.

In Flanders, the mode of apprenticeship based on the medieval tradition of craft guilds encouraged artistic filiation. So, the Francken dynasty is a story of several generations of artists united by blood ties and a common expertise. Although Frans Francken the Elder and Ambrosius Francken I revealed their talent through spectacular religious triptychs, Hieronymus Francken I rose to the prestigious position of painter to the King of France. Each followed their own path based on the proposals received and their inclinations, while benefiting from a brand, the Francken brand.

From 04/09 to 02/01/2022, you can discover the Franckens at Musée de Flandre in Cassel (France) and admire three extraordinary works of art from The Phoebus Foundation. Click here for more info.

Remember Me. More than 100 Renaissance Portraits, from Dürer to Sofonisba tells the story of powerful emperors, flamboyant aristocrats and well-to-do citizens and how they had themselves immortalized throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. Showing various masterpieces by famous artists such as Holbein, Dürer, Memling and Titian, this unique exhibition highlights the first real blossoming of portraiture in Europe.

Besides Renaissance portraits from Turin, Frankfurt and Washington, you can admire two exceptional works by Jan Van Hemessen and Jan Van Scorel from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation!

Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) is arguably the most successful Flemish Baroque painter. His works are characterized by an impressive, colorful imagery that is highly recognizable. Even during Rubens’s lifetime were people prepared to pay the highest prices for his works. But how did Rubens succeed in becoming a painter who is celebrated throughout all of Europe?

This exhibition shows how Rubens laid the foundations for his later success in Italy: he worked in Italy for the ducal court in Mantua as well as for the powerful Doge families in Genoa. Between 1600 and 1608, he continuously expanded his network and gained influential nobles, scholars and diplomats as patrons. Meanwhile, he spent his Italian years to study ancient and renaissance art in Rome and elsewhere.

One hundred paintings and works on paper tell the story of Rubens’ stay in Italy and the beginnings of his great studio in Antwerp. With the loan of Rubens’ Portrait of Emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba and the drawing A satyress Reaches for a Herm of Pan from the master’s sketchbook, The Phoebus Foundation is making an important contribution to this exhibition.