The Flemish masterpiece list
In 2020, the Flemish government placed a large number of old master drawings on their masterpiece list, including rare artworks by Frans Floris, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, Jacques Jordaens, Otto van Veen, Jan Fijt and many more. The majority of these masterpieces are kept in the Museum Plantin-Moretus. The museum takes the official recognition of these drawings as masterpieces as an opportunity to put its unique collection in the spotlight. The exhibition presents an overview that illustrates who, why and how people drew in our regions in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The exhibition challenges the visitor to look beyond a drawing’s subject and composition to consider how and why it was created and why an artist chose specific materials, techniques, formats and even sizes. It provides a framework to allow visitors to see drawings in the functional context for which they were created.
Curator Virginie D'haene
