Masterpieces by Brueghel and Rubens at Buckingham Palace

[Евгений]

Interesting article on ARTinvestment.RU
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From Bruegel to Rubens: masters of Flemish painting "- so the show, which is now in the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace. The exhibition presents over 50 paintings from the collections of the British monarchs, the artists XV - XVII centuries, Hans Memling (Hans Memling), Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Pieter Bruegel de Oude), Jan Brueghel (Jan Brueghel), Anthony van Dyck (Van Dyck), Peter -Paul Rubens (Rubens) and other masters.

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During this period, the largest arts and cultural center of Flanders were Antwerp. In this city lived most of the middle class, it is here that made the highest-quality products, and here worked best artists in Europe. Flemish portraits of the XVI century were of high technology and amazing realism. Painters sought to enhance the interaction between the viewer and the model shown in the picture, and for this purpose they used a variety of visual effects. Thus, the man depicted in portraits by Hans Memling, as if entering into the environment. The picture with the boy at the window, written by an unknown author can perhaps be called the most striking example of an optical illusion: it seems that the child is separated from the spectator only glass.

For the art of the period was characterized by another feature: often artists, referring to the ancient and biblical subjects, vested heroes in modern clothes or put them in a modern setting. For example, Pieter Bruegel the Elder brings his "Massacre of the Innocents" in the Flemish village covered with snow. Locals he portrays the role of infants and their families, and their persecutors and murderers - that troops of the Habsburg Empire.

In the middle of the XVI century Flemish painters were considered the best landscape painter. It was then formed an idealistic type of panoramic landscape, first appeared in the works of Pieter Bruegel and subsequently became the backdrop for paintings by a variety of topics - from genre to biblical scenes. The exhibition includes three beautiful landscapes by Rubens, which the artist painted for his own pleasure and hung in his house in Antwerp.

According to the traditions of that time, many Flemish artists traveled to Rome, sometimes quite lengthy. Therefore, the exhibition can see a whole group of paintings on religious subjects, executed in the spirit of the Italian Renaissance influenced by the traditions of antiquity. Among them, "Assumption of Mary" Rubens and "Christ healing a paralyzed" hand of Van Dyck.
It is interesting to visitors impressive portraits of Van Dyck and Rubens, painted during the reign of Archduke Albert and his wife, Isabella.

The exhibition at Buckingham Palace last until April 29, 2009.

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