Jan Borman II – Madonna and Child
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 and his exquisite Madonna and Child are framed within an extensive artistic network. Contemporaries rightly praised Borman as the best sculptor.



Jan Brueghel I – Flowers in a Vase with a Clump of Cyclamen and Precious Stones
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 composition is a masterpiece by Jan Brueghel I (1568-1625), one of the most important painters of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In this episode of Phoebus Focus, you discover the inspirations, motivations, and working methods behind Brueghel’s devotion to floral splendour.

Anthony Van Dyck – Portrait of Henricus Liberti
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, as organist of the Antwerp Cathedral during the early 17th century, defined the sound of the city. But, more than that, an analysis of Van Dyck’s portrait of Liberti reveals striking details about the unique portrayal of this fascinating figure.

Unknown Antwerp Master – Portrait of a Young Woman
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 portrait. This Phoebus Focus episode offers a fascinating insight into the young lady’s bygone reality: how she dressed, what norms and values she lived by, and what it meant to be married in 1613.

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Jules De Bruycker – Patershol in Ghent
With Koen Fillet and art historian Inge Misschaert
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 etcher Jules De Bruycker and his work ‘Patershol in Ghent’. From festive fun to injustice and despair, discover everything about ‘Patershol in Ghent’ in this brand-new Phoebus Focus episode!

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Hendrick De Clerck – The Garden of Eden with the Four Elements
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, chief of staff of The Phoebus Foundation, and Koen Fillet take you to the imaginative 17th-century depiction of paradise by Hendrick De Clerck and Denijs Van Alsloot. The painting reveals an abundance of religious, artistic, and political information.

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Jacob Jordaens – Saint Begga
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 Fillet take you from the seventh to the seventeenth century and explore how Begga, daughter of Itta of Nivelles (c. 592-652) and Pepin the Elder (c. 580-639), was designated as the foundress of the flourishing beguine movement in 1630. Then, around 1635, Flemish baroque topper Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) painted Holy Begga, resulting in a painting brimming with fascinating stories!

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Joris Hoefnagel – Elegant Company in a Garden
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 celebrating in a garden. But as the author lets you look with the eyes of a sixteenth-century man, he takes you into a world of entertainment and dance, but also of foolishness, envy and lust.

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Peter Snayers – Attack on Travellers
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 canvases that glorified commanders, he also depicted the ordinary man or woman ravaged by the daily reality of war. A raid on travellers does not usually make it into the history books. However, it is at the center of Attack on Travellers, a work by Snayers which is discussed in this episode of Phoebus Focus. Together with Koen Fillet, Phoebus researcher Leen Kelchtermans revives a forgotten master and a forgotten piece of history.

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Karel Appel – Bird
With Koen Fillet and Naomi Meulemans, conservator modern and contemporary art from The Phoebus Foundation
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 the CoBrA artists really as ‘free’ as they wanted to believe? Listen now (in Dutch)!

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Jacob Jordaens – Portrait of Elisabeth Jordaens
With Koen Fillet and Leen Kelchtermans, Researcher of The Phoebus Foundation
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 Kelchtermans takes you through the story behind the painting and together with her you will discover the surprising answers to these questions. Listen now (in Dutch)!

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Goossen Van der Weyden – The Life of Saint Dymphna
With Koen Fillet, Sven Van Dorst (Chief Conservator) and Niels Schalley (Project Coordinator) of The Phoebus Foundation
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 of Dymphna on each panel. But it is not only the iconography of the masterpiece that is surprising. For more than three years, the panels were subjected to an extensive conservation treatment by the conservators of The Phoebus Foundation. They discovered even more extraordinary stories, which had been hidden for centuries under layers of dust and dirt.
In the fourth episode of Phoebus Focus, Sven Van Dorst and Niels Schalley take you along their discoveries of the secrets of Dymphna and Goossen Van der Weyden. (in Dutch)
Would you like to admire the panels with your own eyes? Visit our Crazy about Dymphna exhibition!

Want to know more? Order the Crazy about Dymphna book!
Maerten De Vos – The Allegory of the Seven Liberal Arts
With Koen Fillet and Hildegard Van de Velde, curator of the Snijders&Rockox House Museum.
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 to this talented superstar and guides you through his masterpiece The Allegory of the Seven Liberal Arts.

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Michaelina Wautier – Study of a Young Woman
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 from the truth! A look into the details and behind the layers of paint reveals great secrets of this forgotten important artist. Not only her striking life itself but also the intriguing work raises many questions. Who is the woman depicted? How was the work created and what was its function? Thanks to recent technical research, it is possible to see the painter at work.
In this second episode of Phoebus Focus, Katrijn Van Bragt and Sven Van Dorst take you behind the paint layers of Study of a Young Woman and discover the secrets of one of the most extraordinary artists.


Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
Daniel Seghers – Vase with Roses, Daffodils and Tulips
With Koen Fillet and Sven Van Dorst, head of conservation at The Phoebus Foundation studio
In the seventeenth century, the Jesuit Daniel Seghers must have been something of a pop star. He worked with Peter Paul Rubens, Cornelis Schut, Gonzales Coques and Erasmus II Quellinus. The highest-ranking nobles queued up for his flower still lifes. Studying his work opens up a whole new world. Years of extensive and remarkable technological-material research sheds light on the past and present. It allows us to literally look through the layers of paint, over the artist’s shoulder.
In this first episode of Phoebus Focus, Sven Van Dorst takes you into the wonderful flower world of Daniël Seghers.

Want to know more? Order the Phoebus Focus publication!
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