Arts Flanders Cultural Heritage

A Print Collection Uncovered

faro — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:20:14 +0000

Digital access to the Print Room of the Groeningemuseum (Musea Brugge) in Bruges

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The Groeningemuseum in Bruges has started digitising approximately 15,000 prints and 4,000 drawings from its Print Room - formerly called the Steinmetzcabinet. The works of art are systematically inventoried in an online database, accessible through the website of the Flemish Art Collection: www.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be and www.europeana.eu.

The Print Room of the Groeningemuseum in Bruges has not received the attention that it deserves. Few people are aware of its existence, let alone of the quality and quantity of its collection. In order to increase the visibility of this rich collection, the Groeningemuseum has started – in collaboration with the Flemish Art Collection – the digitisation project.

In the near future, the works will also be accessible through the heritage website of the Province West-Vlaanderen www.erfgoedinzicht.be and the website www.lukasweb.be, through which images are distributed. Responsible for this project are Virginie D’haene and Evelien de Wilde, staff members of the Flemish Art Collection and assistent curators at the Groeningemuseum.

The collection grew out of the donation of 14,000 prints and 3,000 drawings by collector John Steinmetz (1795-1883) to the city of Bruges. This Londoner started his collection at only 15 years of age, after purchasing his first Rembrandt etching. When moving to Bruges in 1819 with his family, Steinmetz drastically expanded his collection. It consists of works by the most prominent engravers and print designers of their times, among whom are Albrecht Dürer, Hans Sebald Beham, Lucas van Leyden, Hendrick Goltzius, Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt van Rijn. When Steinmetz donated his collection to the city of Bruges in 1864, it had developed into a diverse compilation reflecting the highlights of European print history.

After the Steinmetz donation, the works on paper collection of the Groeningemuseum was expanded with four other donations. In the 1920s and 1930s, British artist Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956), who lived in Bruges, donated about 350 of his works on paper including etchings, lithographs and woodcuts. This is today one of the world’s most important collections of works by Brangwyn. In the 1980s the entire graphic oeuvre of Luc de Jaegher (1912-1987) was donated. This artist, as well as being director (1961-1978) of the Bruges Academy of Arts, made c. 800 expressionist prints of romantic and symbolic content. In 1989, the relatives of August Peellaert (1793-1876) – artist and army officer from a noble Bruges family – donated about 300 works by Peellaert. These are views of Bruges and other European cities, villages and rural scenes he did during his travels. Most recently in 1992 all 85 linear abstract prints in constructivist style by the Bruges artist Luc Peire (1916-1994) were added to the collection.

The Groeningemuseum will start showing its prints and drawings collection on a regular basis, thereby highlighting the multiplicity of the collection of works on paper. The exhibition 'The seventeenth century as seen through the eyes of Jacques Callot', on from 1 February until 20 May 2013 at the Arentshuis (Groeningemuseum) is the first collection presentation of this kind. For more information on this exhibition: www.brugge.be/internet/nl/musea/activiteiten/activiteiten_2013.htm#3

Cultural Heritage

Stop Time!

faro — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:46:35 +0000

Heritage Day 2013

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In 2013 the annual "Erfgoeddag" (Cultural Heritage Day) will take place on Sunday, 21 April 2013. Hundreds of organizations based in Flanders and Brussels are joining forces to set up a wide range of exhibitions, talks, guided tours, culinary discoveries and much more. The central theme of this year's edition is 'Stop Time!'.

In 2013 Heritage Day will reach its 13th anniversary. Its approach, public reach, innovative role, and – especially – the commitment of those involved, have made Heritage Day one of the most important heritage events in Flanders and Brussels. Heritage Day places cultural heritage in the spotlight for the sector itself, the public, the media, and policy-makers in our country.

Heritage Day wants everybody to interact with cultural heritage in his or her own daily environment in a contemporary, qualitative and meaningful manner. Every one of us can discover cultural heritage as something valuable and relevant. All the initiatives are aimed at explaining the cultural heritage in order to bring about a change in the public perception of and approach to heritage. On the other hand, Heritage Day is also meant to encourage members across the sector to work together, to cultivate innovative impulses and to place the sector’s own activities in a contemporary perspective.

In addition, Heritage Day is intended to stimulate reflection on matters such as heritage education, improving accessibility to the public, and sustainability.

Heritage Day focuses on the movable (objects) and the intangible (stories, traditional techniques and skills) and thus differs from the Open Monument Day, which concentrates on architecture and other immovable heritage. Heritage Day is one of the biggest heritage events in Flanders and this means that plans should be ambitious. Participation in the Heritage Day implies an extra and remarkable effort to make heritage accessible. ‘Opening the doors’ should be just a starting point and certainly not a final aim. Since 2006 a committee has monitored the quality of new initiatives and it advises potential participants if necessary. The criteria used by this committee are the general terms and conditions, which participants must accept at the time of application.

Each year Heritage Day is made possible by the museums, archives, churches, documentation centres, collecting libraries, local heritage units and organisations dedicated to folk culture, but also by cultural societies, public libraries, youth organisations, academies/universities and other schools. Every year this results in a fantastic, rich and diverse selection of activities.

More information: www.erfgoeddag.be

Cultural Heritage

Hieronymus Cock. The Renaissance in Print

faro — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:17:35 +0000

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Hieronymus Cock (1518-1570) was the most successful print publisher of his day. In a short space of time he built up his printing works, known as ‘At the Sign of the Four Winds’ (In de Vier Winden or Aux Quatre Vents), into the most influential print publishing company in Europe. The engravings he brought out were distributed far and wide, ensuring the fame of artists such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Frans Floris, Maarten Van Heemskerck and many others. In this exhibition, more than two hundred rare and fragile works on paper give a broad overview of what Cock and his associates produced.

In 1548 the first prints rolled off the presses at the Antwerp publishing firm Aux Quatre Vents (‘At the Sign of the Four Winds’). In the decades that followed, the founders of that company, the Antwerp painter Hieronymus Cock and his wife Volcxken Diericx, would flood Europe with powerful printed images of the highest artistic quality. Cock employed the best etchers to make major masterpieces by great Italian masters such as Raphael, Andrea del Sarto and Giulio Romano available in print. He thus played a crucial part in the breakthrough of new artistic ideas on the whole European continent. As a result of Cock's initiative, Antwerp developed into Europe's leading publishing centre (of prints and other works) in the second half of the 16th century.

Hieronymus Cock gained great fame and popularity through his long-term artistic and commercial partnership with Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Commissioned by the Antwerp publisher, Breugel designed dozens of unforgettable prints, which permanently defined his great international reputation and were to have a lasting influence on the history of Dutch and European art.

This exhibition presents the first broad overview of the activities of the Aux Quatre Vents publishing firm in twenty-five years. The activities of Cock and his colleagues are presented to the public through more than two hundred rare and fragile works on paper. Most of the pieces originated from the rich collection of prints and drawings in the Royal Library of Belgium. That institution has in recent years carried out new research into the Aux Quatre Vents firm and its products. Dozens of crucial loans from major national and international collections complete the overview.

This project is a joint project by the Royal Library of Belgium, M Museum Leuven, the Fondation Custodia – Frits Lugt Collection, and Illuminare, Centre for the Study of Medieval Art (KU Leuven).

More information

Hieronymus Cock. The Renaissance in Print, 14.03.2013 >< 9.06.2013, M Leuven, Leopold Vanderkelenstraat 28, B-3000 Leuven

From 18 September to 15 December the exhibition will be on at the Institut Néerlandais in Paris.

More information:
M - Museum Leuven, www.mleuven.be

Cultural Heritage

The Magnificent Middle Ages

faro — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:10:31 +0000

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The Plantin-Moretus Museum houses an exceptional collection of illuminated manuscripts. The museum is now presenting a selection of the most beautiful and important manuscripts to the public in association with Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art (KU Leuven).

In the sixteenth century, Christopher Plantin collected ‘early’ manuscripts containing biblical and classical writings for his printing workshop. Several of these works probably served as a basis for the first printed editions. Colourful initial letters and subtle border decoration enhance the visual appeal of these early handwritten works on parchment. In the mid-seventeenth century the collection was expanded by the addition of several marvellously illuminated Bibles, missals and books of hours from Paris. The manuscripts with miniatures that were purchased came from every region of Europe. Balthasar Moretus II’s collection grew into a small bibliophile treasure trove.

The last generation of Moretuses enriched the collection even more. As from the late eighteenth century, illuminated manuscripts were after all considered to be exquisite works of art from a distant and exotic mediaeval past. The splendid two-part Bohemian ‘Wenceslas Bible’, the Chronicles of Froissart and several fine books of hours from the Northern and Southern Netherlands are the collection’s finest pieces.

This exhibition also illustrates a less well-known aspect of the collection’s history. The fact is that in the world of the printed book, many mediaeval manuscripts were put to a new use. Some parchment folios were recycled and had a second life as an endpaper or dust jacket.

The results of the new academic art study have been collected in a richly illustrated catalogue in English: Lieve Watteeuw & Catherine Reynolds, Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts, Museum Plantin Moretus, Corpus of Illuminated Manuscripts 20, Illuminare – Centre for the Study of Medieval Art (KU Leuven), ed. Jan Van de Stock, Peeters Publishers, London-Leuven-Walpole, 2013.

The finest specimens from the collection of manuscripts have recently been put online in full. The oldest manuscript in the museum, Sedulius’ ninth-century 'Carmen Paschale' and several fifteenth-century books of hours with their superb miniatures and border decorations can be browsed on the internet from the first to the last folio. The most striking work is the two-part Wenceslas Bible from 1402-1403, with its 210 miniatures. This Bible can already be examined digitally on the museum's website.

The Plantin-Moretus Museum was the home of the Plantin-Moretus family and contains the publishing house and printing works. The oldest printing presses in the world are here. They bear witness to the first industrial distribution of knowledge and images. The rich art collection is held in the historical residence, including paintings by the family friend Peter Paul Rubens. The residence and the printing works are both on UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage list.

Practical info

The Magnificent Middle Ages, the Plantin-Moretus Museum’s Finest Manuscripts
Plantin-Moretus Museum, Vrijdagmarkt 22, 2000 Antwerp

Cultural Heritage

Daguerreobase, a new European photographic heritage project

faro — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:14:51 +0000

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The Antwerp Province Photo Museum (FotoMuseum Provincie Antwerpen - FoMu) has recently launched an ambitious photographic heritage project.

The goal of 'Daguerreobase', a project supported by the European Commission, is to collect over 25,000 daguerreotype images from all over Europe, together with descriptions of them and related literature in a single database called Daguerreobase. A selection of items from Daguerreobase can be seen at Europeana.eu, the European Union's portal and digital library for the European Cultural Heritage. This project is partially funded under the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) as part of the European Community's Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme.

The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process (1839-1860). It is a positive image made directly in the camera on a silvered copper plate. European daguerreotypes are scarce and are scattered around in several European institutional and private collections .

Daguerreobase is an existing database originated by the Dutch Photo Museum (Stichting Nederlands Fotomuseum) that is being renewed. This renewed Daguerreobase aims not only to aggregate and centralize the information on these collections, but will also make this information available to researchers and professionals and also to the general public through an educational platform. Private collectors and public institutions will be invited to share their treasures in a secure digital environment.

To achieve this ambitious goal a consortium of 18 European partners from 13 different countries has been established. These partners are institutions that collect photography and private collectors specialising in photography. Partners will agree on the development of a standard description format and provide data for the Daguerreobase. This will result in a user-friendly website with an unprecedented amount of information on European daguerreotypes and related objects and literature. In the final months of the project a Europeana Virtual Daguerreotype Exhibition will be held.

The FoMu is project coordinator and the other consortium partners are: Stichting Nederlands Fotomuseum (NL), Ville de Paris (FR), Stadt Köln (DE), Landshauptstadt Dresden (DE), Ministère de la Culture (LU), Insititut for Papierrestaurierung Schloss Schonbrunn Mag. Markus Klaszund Mitgesellschafter – IPR (AT), Suomen Valokuvataiteen Museon Saatio Stiftelsen – Stiftelesen for Finlands Fotografiska (Museum Foundation Finnish Museum of Photography) SVM FMP (FI), Nasjionalbiblioteket (NO), Universitetet i Bergen (NO), Picturae bv (NL), e-David (BE), Ortelee Marinus Jan*MJ Ortelee/Fotojournalist MOCED (NL), SMP Di Petrillo Sandra Maria (IT), Museum Conservation Services (UK), Narodni Technicke Muzeum (CZ), Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, (ES), Det Kongelige Bibliotek and Nationalbibliotek og Kobenhavns Universitetsbibliotek (DK).

The project will run until the end of April 2015.

Cultural Heritage

'Disegno & Couleur': Royal Museum of Fine Arts goes on tour

faro — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:41:18 +0000

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The Disegno & Couleur exhibition, on tour in the Netherlands and France, shows masterpieces from the collection of old drawings at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium.

For this exhibition a selection was made of Italian and French drawings from the 16th to the 18th century. Many have never been exhibited before and were done by artists who worked in the artistic centres of the period, such as Florence, Bologne, Rome, Venice and Paris. The exhibition includes works by Paolo Farinati, Giovanni Stradano, Frederico Zuccaro, Cesare Nebbia, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, Jean Cousin, Simon Couet, Laurent de la Hyre and Antoine Watteau.

The drawings in the exhibition offer a broad survey of techniques, designs and functions. Because drawings play a crucial part in the creative process, there are many different kinds, from the scribbles of a first rough idea to finely finished designs for sculptures, decors, paintings and frescos. Some drawings were done for great decoration projects that we can still admire today, such as the cathedral dome and Palazzo Vecchio in Florence or the halls of the Vatican. Apart from this, the exhibition illustrates how drawing slowly shed its subordinate role and became an art form in its own right.

The Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht is hosting the exhibition until 17 February 2013. From 16 March to 27 May 2013 'Disegno & Couleur' will be at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours (France). The exhibition returns to the Belgian Royal Museum of Fine Arts in 2014.

More information:

Cultural Heritage

Exhibition unveils Antwerp's artistic printmaking

faro — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:10:19 +0000

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The exhibition 'Gekregen, getekend, gedrukt' ('Got, drawn, printed') in the Maagdenhuis Museum in Antwerp for the first time allows visitors to admire the vast collection of 17th-century engravings and other original drawings from the collection of Antwerp's OCMW (social services).

The exhibition also includes a wide range of more recent printmaking techniques such as etching, woodcut and lithography. The exhibition features works by Frieda Maes, Veerle Rooms, Joris Minne, Hugo Claus, Fred Bervoets and Sam Dillemans. That way you get a unique overview of Antwerp's artistic printmaking.

The Maagdenhuis Museum houses the art collection of Antwerp's social services department. Situated in a beautiful specimen of 16th- and 17th-century architecture, the façade and the charming inner courtyard are the two unique features of the Maagdenhuis Museum. The permanent exhibition is made up of elaborate showpieces created in the 18th century and includes paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens, sculptures, earthenware, glassware and small medieval utensils.

Most of the collection of works on paper came into the possession of the social services department by donation. Graphic work was often designed and printed for festive occasions like a royal visit or an anniversary.

Practical information

From 15 December 2012 to 30 June 2013
Maagdenhuis Museum, Lange Gasthuisstraat 33, 2000 Antwerp
maagdenhuismuseum@ocmw.antwerpen.be

www.ocmw.antwerpen.be/maagdenhuismuseum

Cultural Heritage

Opening of the Kazerne Dossin Museum in Mechelen

faro — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:34:49 +0000

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The Kazerne Dossin (Dossin Barracks) Museum in Mechelen is now open to the public. The renovated Dossin site is not just a prestige project for Flanders and the city of Mechelen, but is also a project with international ambitions.

Kazerne Dossin will be enhanced as a place of remembrance. In addition, the project as a whole is to serve as a point of reference for education, information and reflection on the persecution of Jews in Belgium and human rights in general. The mission of this museum, memorial and documentation centre is to contribute to the study of and reflection on the mechanisms of exclusion, intolerance and racism in society and also to contribute to advancing the principles of democracy.

The Kazerne Dossin Museum is located on a historic site. In July 1942, two years after the outbreak of the Second World War in Belgium, the German occupying forces opened an SS-Sammellager there. It was from here that 25,482 Jews and 352 gypsies were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train, in 28 consecutive transports. Less than 5% of them would survive the war.

This tragic episode makes Dossin Barracks an important ‘place of remembrance’ in the history of the Nazi Judeocide in Europe. An analogy can be drawn with Theresienstadt in Poland, Drancy in France and Westerbork in the Netherlands. At the same time Dossin Barracks is a landmark in Belgian history because of the complicity of the Belgian authorities in the persecution of the Jews from 1940 onwards and in the deportations from Mechelen after 1942.

The new museum complex consists of three parts: the Memorial (place of remembrance), the Museum and a Documentation Centre. The infrastructure will be completely tailored to the needs of schools and international visitors. The project, which clearly has international ambitions, expects to welcome about 100,000 visitors each year from both home and abroad. It will be placed on an equal footing with institutions such as the Jüdisches Museum (Berlin), the Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris), the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington) and Yad Vashem (Jerusalem).

More information:

www.kazernedossin.com

Cultural Heritage

The online heritage library Flandrica.be now open

faro — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:26:58 +0000

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Last November, the Flemish Heritage Library, a network of six heritage libraries in Flanders, launched its new online treasury: Flandrica.be. This online heritage library contains illuminated manuscripts, early printed books and other historical materials from the Middle Ages to the present day.

By clicking on the timeline, wandering around the thematical guided tours or browsing through the themes and places of interest, you come across beautifully illustrated medieval manuscripts, old prints by Plantin, and also old cookery books, lyrics and catechisms.

Flandrica.be is the portal for a current total of 425 books, manuscripts, newspapers and other documents from the six partner libraries: Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, Antwerp University Library, Bruges Public Library, Ghent University Library, Limburg Provincial Library and Leuven University Library. Over 75% of the works are manuscripts and early printed books. More works will follow in the coming years.

More information:

www.flandrica.be

Cultural Heritage

Ludodiversity programme wins Flemish Culture Award for Cultural Heritage

faro — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:08:38 +0000

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Flemish Minister for Culture Joke Schauvliege has handed over the Flemish Community Award for Cultural Heritage 2011-2012 to the Sportimonium in Hofstade for its Ludodiversity programme. The presentation took place during Het Groot Onderhoud, the annual event for the cultural heritage sector organised by FARO, the Flemish Support Centre for Cultural Heritage, in Brussels. The Flemish Culture Award is a great reward for the process which Prof. Dr. Roland Renson has initiated and which has already received recognition from UNESCO as well.

In November 2011, UNESCO decided to enter the 'Programme of cultivating ludodiversity: safeguarding traditional games in Flanders' of the non-profit organisation Sportimonium in Hofstade-Zemst in the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices. It is the first time that this honour is bestowed on a Belgian application. Moreover, the application was the sole best practice to receive congratulations from UNESCO for the exemplary way in which it adapts intangible cultural heritage to contemporary settings.

Ludodiversity refers to the wide diversity in games, ranging from curl bowling to popinjay shooting (vertical and horizontal). During these past decades a lot of research has been conducted into the rich traditional sport and game culture present in Flanders. In 1973, Roland Renson started the research project ‘Vlaamse Volkssportdossiers’ at KULeuven. In 1980, the ‘Vlaamse Volkssportcentrale’ was established and in 1988 the ‘Confederatie Vlaamse Traditionele Sporten’. This rekindled the interest in the sports heritage and gave it the necessary promotion. Participation was aimed at, among other things through a loan service. Throughout the years an important collection of items and related audiovisual documentation was gathered. This collection was exhibited when the Sport Museum in Hofstade opened its doors in 2004. The documentation centre on traditional sport and game culture was embedded. Since 2006 the traditional games park has offered people the opportunity to also become acquainted with traditional sports outside sport clubs.

Roland Renson, his students, his co-workers and the entire team of the Sportimonium have played and still play a crucial role in safeguarding traditional sports and games in Flanders. They act as pioneers in dealing with intangible cultural heritage. For four decades the Ludodiversity programme has been putting into practice the principles and methodologies that are laid down in the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and were described in the Flemish Vision Paper 'A Policy for Intangible Cultural Heritage in Flanders' in late 2010. Thanks to this well-founded and sustained process, which led to concrete results, the programme currently serves as an important example for the entire sector.

With this laureate the jury wants to give recognition to the vision that is actively promoted by Prof. Dr. Renson. According to the jury "the result is a traditional game culture which is alive, being aware of its past, present and future. Flemish Minister Joke Schauvliege presents the Flemish Culture Award for Cultural Heritage to the Sportimonium as a cultural golden medal for its many efforts to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of the sport and game culture in Flanders, now and in the future."

Flemish Minister for Culture Joke Schauvliege: "Both the entry in the UNESCO Register and the international congratulations which the Ludodiversity programme received are a recognition which Sportimonium and the whole team can boast of abroad as well."

Het Groot Onderhoud
On Friday 19 October 2012, actors from the cultural heritage sector gathered at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels for the second edition of Het Groot Onderhoud. This annual sectoral event is organised by FARO, the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage. Some 250 heritage workers discussed, during a range of sessions, how they could increasingly valorise their collections in a better and sustainable manner.

2011-2012 Flanders Culture Awards
A jury of experts honours a person or organisation that has made a remarkable contribution to the Flemish cultural landscape during the past season. The Culture Awards create public awareness of the laureate at a major event in the sector, which generates attention and appreciation for both the sector and the winner.

A cash prize of €12,500 is connected to the award. The Flemish Community set aside €20,000 for the Award for General Cultural Achievement. Each laureate receives the bronze statuette La ultima isla by Philip Aguirre.

More information: www.cultuurprijzen.be and www.vlaanderen.be/cultuurprijzen

Cultural Heritage

Exhibition shows Flemish landscape fables of the 16th century

faro — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:09:44 +0000

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The Lille Palais des Beaux-Arts is organizing a major international exhibition entitled 'Flemish Landscape Fables in the 16th Century'. The marvellous and fabulous characteristics of these landscapes will be revealed in a hundred works of art from the collections of important Flemish (Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Courtray), international (Florence, London, Madrid, Rome, Rotterdam, Vienna et al.) and French (Douai, Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Valenciennes et al.) museums.

The exhibition is co-curated by Manfred Sellink (Director, Municipal Museums, Bruges), Paul Huvenne (Director, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp) and Paul Vandenbroeck (Curator, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp)

At the dawn of Mannerism, landscapes stood out as the true subject of painting. Figures and Biblical stories were relegated to second place by the desire to show the invisible, in order to produce an impression of infinity. Flemish artists invented a new way of painting, which was both captivating and creative, on the boundary between reality and imagination. Nature became the place for myths and fables. Trees and rocks were given human characteristics, and the strangest creatures were placed alongside men going about their daily business.

These images show where the Christian faith and popular superstitions intertwined, where beauty and the bizarre met, and where both the marvellous and the monstrous were present. These works of art are signed by famous masters such as Bosch, Breughel, Met de Bles, Bril and Patinir, but also by less well known but nonetheless brilliant artists including Jan Mandijn and Kerstiaen de Keuninck. Their powerful message continues into the modern world, and has never ceased to be meaningful. The exhibition is much more than an artistic opportunity. It is essentially the means of understanding the world around us.

'Flemish Landscape Fables in the 16th Century' from 6 October 2012 to 14 January 2013
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille
www.pba-lille.fr

Cultural Heritage

Alamire and KBR digitize manuscripts of polyphonic music

faro — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:39:30 +0000

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Together with the Alamire Foundation (KU Leuven), the Manuscript Department of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) has started on the digitization of its musical sources. Earlier this year, the KBR joined the Alamire research programme, which is compiling an online corpus of available sources of old music, currently spread over various libraries and heritage institutions.

The manuscripts of the KBR are being digitized thanks to Alamire Digital Lab. The manuscripts of polyphonic music from the Southern Netherlands, and especially the codices from the studio of Peter Alamire (1470-1536), will soon be accessible on the website of the KBR.

Peter Alamire was a German-Dutch music copyist, composer, instrumentalist, mining engineer, businessman, diplomat and apparently even spy for the court of Henry VIII of England. In his day, Alamire was one of the most gifted music copyists and several now famous Dutch polyphonists owe the survival of their oeuvre to his famous illuminated manuscript copies. Alamire's copies of the various pieces of music are preserved in many European libraries, including those of the Habsburgs in Vienna, London and the Vatican, but also in Brussels and Mechelen. Some smaller fragments are preserved in the State Archives of Bruges, Ghent and Anderlecht, in the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp and in the city archives of Tongeren.

www.kbr.be

www.alamirefoundation.org

Cultural Heritage

James Ensor art package from KMSKA travels to Japan

faro — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:41:38 +0000

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The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) is using its closure for renovation as an opportunity to promote its collection abroad. KMSKA’s exceptionally varied and valuable holdings have already caught the eye of several foreign institutions. A themed package about James Ensor is now on show in Japan.

The KMSKA's Ensor collection will reside in Japan from 14 April to 17 March 2013. The travelling exhibition 'Ensor in Context' will call at five venues: Toyota Art Museum, Ehime Art Museum and Togo Seji Memorial Museum in Tokyo, Iwate Art Museum and Okayama Art Museum. The package for this show consists of 73 paintings and 59 drawings and engravings from the KMSKA collection. After the major Ensor exhibitions at MoMA in New York and Musée d’Orsay in Paris in 2010, this exhibition offers audiences in Japan an opportunity to acquaint themselves more closely with this artist's work. Only two Ensor paintings, albeit important ones, are held by Japanese museums (Love Garden, 1891, and Self-Portrait with Masks, 1899). But the exhibition does not focus on Ensor alone. As the title suggests, the work of Ensor and his contemporaries provides a starting point for an exploration of the history of Western European art. Furthermore, the exhibition delves into the motif of the grotesque. In this respect, Ensor drew inspiration from his discovery of the work of the Japanese painter and graphic artist Hokusai. KMSKA has made carefully considered selections from its collections of Old and Modern Masters for the two components of the exhibition. Visitors in Japan will be able to admire work by, among other artists, Jan Gossaert, Pieter Brueghel II, David Teniers II, Gustave Courbet, Henri Fantin-Latour, Emile Claus and George Hendrik Breitner.

More information: KMSKA on the road

Cultural Heritage

M HKA participates in ARTtube online video channel

faro — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:00:31 +0000

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M HKA, the Antwerp Museum of Contemporary Art, is participating in ARTtube, a collective video channel for art and design in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The partners in ARTtube are the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, M HKA in Antwerp, the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, De Pont in Tilburg and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The museums will be publishing high-quality videos about art and design on ARTtube, including exceptional interviews with highly-reputed artists and designers and fascinating portraits of inspirational creatives. They will also offer a peep behind the scenes in videos about setting up an exhibition and restoring works of art - and also let curators and restorers talk about their work.

Most of the videos on ARTtube are also available in English. The five museums will continue to develop ARTtube in the years to come. The aim is to attract half a million visitors per year by 2014.

www.arttube.nl
www.facebook.com/ArtTube
http://twitter.com/ARTtube_NL

Cultural Heritage

New book explains Flemish policy on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage

faro — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 13:14:59 +0000

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A new publication outlines the path the Flemish Community has been following with the aim of implementing the UNESCO 2003 Convention on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Government of Flanders' policy on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage was written in three languages (Dutch, French and English) and published on the occasion of the fourth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Paris, 4-8 June 2012). Besides publication in full of the vision paper 'A policy for intangible cultural heritage in Flanders', which Ms. Joke Schauvliege, Flemish Minister of Environment, Nature and Culture announced in December 2010, this publication provides the reader with an overview of the elements included in the Inventaris Vlaanderen voor Immaterieel Cultureel Erfgoed.

Consideration is also given to the project entitled 'A programme of cultivating ludodiversity: safeguarding traditional games in Flanders', which in 2011 was included in the Register compiled on the basis of Article 18 of the UNESCO 2003 Convention.

The publication also contains an article on how the facilitating policy has developed in the meantime, how the network of cultural heritage organisations whose task it is to guide heritage communities within the Flemish Community is organised, and how this network contributes to safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage. The same article also discusses the interactive website and database that is being developed.

The book can be downloaded from the website of the Arts and Heritage Agency. You can also read it using Issuu.

Source: Arts and Heritage Agency

Cultural Heritage

In Flanders Fields Museum reopens

faro — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:57:53 +0000

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This summer, the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres reopens for the public after a thorough renovation, which goes a lot further than just a new layout and some embellishment. The museum will not only be larger, it will also provide the visitors with a more intense perception and richer experience.

The In Flanders Fields Museum presents the story of the First World War as experienced on the Front in Belgium's West Flanders. In the renovated Cloth Halls of Ypres, the completely new permanent exhibition (opening 11 June 2012) tells the story of the invasion of Belgium and the first few months of mobilisation, the four years of trench warfare in the Westhoek (from the beach at Nieuwpoort to the River Lys in Armentières), the end of the war and the sustained remembrance since.

The focus of the scenography is the human experience and it calls particular attention to the contemporary landscape as one of the last true witnesses to the history of the war. The museum views the events from many possible perspectives The general and military history angle is important, but so is the relationship with the present, the approach - as humans and as a society - to our past and that of all the other countries involved. With people from five continents and more than fifty different countries and cultures taking part in the war in Flanders, the public that visits the In Flanders Fields Museum is extremely international.

The new museum is 50% larger and houses a new WWI knowledge centre, new education space for workshops and greater visitor comfort.

www.inflandersfields.be/en

Cultural Heritage

George Minne gets online museum

faro — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 07:49:04 +0000

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The renowned Ghent sculptor, drawer and graphic artist George Minne (1866-1941) has his own online museum with over 680 works from the collections of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), the Museum of Fine Arts (Ghent), the Groeningemuseum (Bruges) and the Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region (Deinze).

Dozens of new high resolution photos were taken. Thanks to collaboration with Lukas, Art in Flanders it is possible to zoom in quite closely on most of the works. Users who wish to order an image or reproduction will be guided directly to the appropriate page of Lukas, Art in Flanders. A separate section features four sketchbooks by Minne from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent.

'George Minne | An online museum' is an initiative of the Flemish Art Collection (Vlaamse Kunstcollectie vzw (VKC)), an umbrella organisation that stimulates collaboration between the various art collections in Flanders and engages in the international promotion of these collections. The Flemish Art Collection has previously launched online museums on the Flemish Primitives and James Ensor.

www.georgeminne.be

Cultural Heritage

GameHUB launches two innovative heritage games

faro — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:26:10 +0000

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Wireless Puppetry and The Last Continent are two serious games that use game technology to tell an educational story for children and young people. Both games were created by GameHUB, a research project that combines the research results on game development supplied by PHL University College Hasselt, the University of Hasselt, Limburg Catholic University College and Group T University College Leuven. The researchers work closely together with students and entrepreneurs.

The Wireless Puppetry game was developed for The Firmament, the home for puppet, figure and object theatre in Flanders. The game focuses on children and adolescents aged 8 to 12, who play the game in class. By means of a special motion controller the children can guide the marionette through the game, surmounting all kinds of obstacles at several playing levels, each time focussing on different types of theatre puppets. The children can construct their own marionette and dress it up to their own taste. The choices they make have an impact on how the game evolves. Once the marionette is completed, it can be released into the virtual world of figures at The Firmament exhibition centre in Mechelen (Belgium). A demo version can be found online.

The Last Continent was created for The New Belgica, which is currently building a replica of the 'Belgica', the legendary polar ship with which Adrian de Gerlache sailed to Antarctica between 1897 and 1899 to spend the winter there for the first time in history. The game is principally aimed at teenagers of between 13 and 15. By playing the game, they personally relive De Gerlache's journey: original 19th-century pictures come to life and introduce you to De Gerlache's world. Along the way, you’ll also suffer a great many setbacks... The trailer of The Last Continent can be found online.

Cultural Heritage

Cultural Heritage Day 2012 focuses on 'Heroes'

faro — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:10:03 +0000

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The 2012 edition of the annual "Erfgoeddag" (Cultural Heritage Day) will take place on Sunday, 22 April 2012. Hundreds of organizations based in Flanders and Brussels join forces to set up a wide range of exhibitions, talks, guided tours, culinary discoveries and much more. The central theme of this year's edition is 'Heroes'.

Cultural Heritage Day is first of all a celebration. In 2012 Heritage Day will have its 12th anniversary. Its approach, public reach, innovative role, and – especially – the commitment of those involved, have made Heritage Day one of the most important heritage events in Flanders and Brussels. Heritage Day places cultural heritage in the spotlight for the sector itself, the public, the media, and policy-makers in our country.

Cultural Heritage Day focuses on the movable (objects) and the intangible (stories, traditional techniques and skills) and thus differs from the Open Monument Day, which concentrates on architecture and other immovable heritage. Heritage Day is one of the biggest heritage events in Flanders and this means that plans are ambitious. Participation in the Heritage Day implies an extra and special effort to make heritage accessible. ‘Opening the doors’ should be just a starting point and certainly not a final destination. Since 2006 a committee has watched over the quality of new initiatives and advises potential participants if necessary. The criteria applied by this committee are the general terms and conditions that participants must accept at the time of application.

Each year Cultural Heritage Day is made possible by the museums, archives, church bodies, documentation centres, collecting libraries, local heritage units and organisations dedicated to folk culture, but also by cultural clubs, public libraries, youth organisations, academies/universities and other schools. Every year this results in a fantastic, rich and diverse selection of activities.

More information: Cultural Heritage Day

Cultural Heritage

Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Brussels) takes part in Google Art Project

faro — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:49:36 +0000

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Artworks from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Brussels) can now be explored at brushstroke level detail, thanks to the participation of the museum in the Google Art Project. The selected works span the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and include paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Jacob Jordaens, Rogier van der Weyden, Gustaf Wappers, Alfred Stevens, Jacques-Louis David and Fernand Khnopff.

The Google Art Project, which was launched in February 2011, offers virtual tours of seventeen of the world's major museums, including the New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery in London, the Reina Sofia in Madrid, and the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Each of the partner museums selected a number of key works from its collections, which were then digitised at a very high resolution. A user-friendly interface allows visitors to zoom in on details that are often invisible to the naked eye.

The second phase of the Google Art Project began in April 2012. The goal is to significantly expand the number of participating museums and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium have been invited to take part. Very high-resolution reproductions were created under the aegis of the Heritage Digitisation Project of the Etablissements scientifiques fédéraux (ESF), with financing from the Belgian Science Policy Office. They are available to the public on the Google Art Project site.

Two of the Royal Museums´ most emblematic works, 'Marat Assassinated' by Jacques-Louis David (inv. 3260), and 'The Numbering at Bethlehem' (inv. 3637) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, were given special treatment. The digitisation process included the use of a multispectral camera developed by Lumière Technology in Paris. This technology – which has also been used for other masterpieces, including Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' and 'Lady with an Ermine' – reveals data that is invisible in the infrared and ultraviolet spectra. In addition to providing useful information for understanding artworks, the images produced by the multispectral camera are of such high definition that they allow users to examine barely visible details.

A second work by Bruegel, 'The Fall of the Rebel Angels', also received special treatment – the same that was given to Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) in the first phase of the Google Art Project. The digital image of this work is comprised of thousands of individual files consisting of nearly a billion pixels. To achieve this, the painting was photographed at night in order to avoid any light interference or vibrations from passing cars on nearby streets. The extraordinary image that was produced reveals the composition’s subtlest brushstrokes.

Source: Royal Museums of Fine Arts

Cultural Heritage

Rubens revealed

faro — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:39:29 +0000

Exhibition presents research results

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In 'Rubens revealed. Victory on a Roll. Oil Sketch for the Triumphal Chariot of Kallo', the Rubens project set up by the Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) presents the results of a study into the context and significance of Peter Paul Rubens’ oil sketch 'The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo' (1638). The exhibition will be held at the Rockox House Museum in Antwerp from 11 February to 13 May 2012.

'The Triumphal Chariot of Kallo' is one of the most intriguing oil sketches by Rubens in the KMSKA collection. The researchers provide details about the historical context of the painting, a famous victory over the Dutch at the Battle of Kallo (1638) during the Eighty Years War. But the main focus is on the iconography of the sketch, which is compared with the pictorial tradition of earlier allegorical triumphal chariots. The team also analyses the meaning of the various characters on the chariot, who bear a striking resemblance to figures in previous sketches by Rubens. Finally, attention is paid to the 'Ommegang', the annual festive procession through Antwerp for which Rubens designed the Triumphal Chariot as a float.

The Rubens project was launched in 2007 with the financial support of the Getty Foundation. Under this programme, the Collection Research Department and the Collection Management Department are subjecting KMSKA's prominent Rubens subcollection to systematic and comprehensive study.

More information

Triumph on wheels - Rubens' oil sketch representing the Chariot of Kallo | 11/02/12 - 13/05/12

Rockox House Museum, Keizerstraat 10-12, 2000 Antwerp (B)
KMSKA
Rockox House Museum

Cultural Heritage

Masterpiece monstrance on display in Germany

faro — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:16:35 +0000

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The monstrance from Herkenrode Abbey, which was very recently added to Flanders' list of Items of Exceptional Importance, will be on display in Münster (Germany) until May 2012. The 'Golden Splendour' exhibition brings together more than 240 medieval exhibits and shows some outstanding examples of the goldsmith's art from the 10th to the 16th century.

The Herkenrode monstrance is the oldest known monstrance in the world and dates back to 1286. Handcrafted by Parisian jewellers, it provides genuine evidence of the fine craftsmanship of those early times. This monstrance has played a pivotal role in religious life since medieval times because of the bleeding host which has been shown and stored in it 1317. By adding it to the list of Items of Exceptional Importance, the Flemish Government stresses its cultural and historical significance.

The 'Golden Splendour' exhibition focuses on the beauty and splendour of outstanding work by goldsmiths in the Westphalia of the late Middle Ages. In this region, an unusually large number of goldsmiths remained as witnesses to Christian piety and the worldly need for representation. For the first time, this exhibition is giving due recognition to these treasures, which have often slumbered unseen, both for their artistic standing and also in relation to their original historical context.

When not on display in Münster, the monstrance from Herkenrode Abbey can be seen in Stadsmus, Hasselt (Belgium).

More information

Cultural Heritage

Flemish Primitives | An online museum

faro — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:04:54 +0000

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The new 'Flemish Primitives' website puts an important piece of Flemish cultural heritage in the international spotlight. The website informs both the interested layman and the expert art historian about painting in the Burgundian Low Countries from Jan van Eyck to Quinten Massijs. 'Flemish primitives | An online museum' is an initiative by the Flemish Art Collection (Vlaamse Kunstcollectie vzw (VKC)), an umbrella organisation that stimulates collaboration between the various art collections in Flanders and the international promotion of these collections.

In addition to the Flemish Primitives, it also shows collections from the established partner museums: the KMSKA, MSK and the Groeninge Museum, the collections from museum M in Leuven, Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp and the Memling in Sint-Jan’s Hospital in Bruges, along with the collections from St Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent and St Salvator's Cathedral in Bruges. Thanks to collaboration with Lukas, Art in Flanders it is possible to zoom in quite closely on most of the works so that the perfection of the Primitives' painting technique is apparent. In most of the multi-panel works one can view each panel separately. Detail photos are also taken of the most important works. The Flemish Research Centre for the Arts in the Burgundian Netherlands at the Bruges museums and the Centre for the Study of Flemish Primitives at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK) are responsible for guaranteeing the scientific and art historical correctness of the information provided.

The new website makes it very easy to surf from page of detail to the next. Users who wish to order an image or reproduction will be guided directly to the appropriate page of Lukas, Art in Flanders. Twenty-six domain names with various country extensions have been reserved so that the website will be easily found in different language regions.

More information

http://vlaamseprimitieven.vlaamsekunstcollectie.be/en

Cultural Heritage

Sagalassos | City of dreams

faro — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:10:30 +0000

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The Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren is mounting a blockbuster exhibition entitled ‘Sagalassos, City of Dreams’. The ancient city of Sagalassos in the south of Turkey is one of the most beautiful archaeological sites in the Mediterranean and the Belgian archaeologist Marc Waelkens of the K.U.Leuven has been carrying out excavation work there for more than 20 years. The Gallo-Roman Museum is the first and only European museum to present a retrospective exhibition of this kind. Never before have the precious finds been allowed to leave Turkish soil.

Sagalassos lies in the southern province of Burdur in Turkey, high up in the mountains some 100 km to the north of the seaside resort of Antalya. Under the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) Sagalassos flourished and magnificent monuments, temples, fountains, Roman bath houses, etc. were built. The ambitious elite dreamt of making the city great and they were able to realize these dreams. Sagalassos became a City of Dreams. In the 4th century Sagalassos was Christianized and the Church became a major power. But an epidemic of plague and two powerful earthquakes at the beginning of the 6th and 7th centuries AD heralded its decline. In the 13th century Sagalassos became a ghost town. Fortunately, its remote location high up on a mountainside deterred plunderers. Layers of erosion material several metres thick hid the buildings from view and protected them.

In the early 1990s major excavation work started under the leadership of Professor Marc Waelkens of the K.U.Leuven. An interdisciplinary team of scientists descended upon the site and they have spent the last 20 years systematically uncovering the ancient city in what is one of the largest excavations in the Mediterranean world. The many items brought to the surface by Professor Waelkens’ team testify to the city’s complex and fascinating history. These items include monumental architectural fragments, life-size statues of Roman gods and emperors and other intriguing objects ranging from prehistoric tools and red-painted pottery dishes, through fragments of bronze sculptures and oil lamps bearing Christian motifs, to slabs from friezes depicting dancing nymphs and lavishly decorated capitals. Many of these wonders have now been allowed to leave Turkish soil for the first time for a retrospective exhibition at the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren.

Exhibition
The internationally-celebrated Belgian opera director and set designer Guy Joosten has come up with a bold design for the exhibition, which is presented as a dramatic event. Joosten wants visitors to look at things differently. He lights certain exhibits from different sides, including the monumental marble portrait of the Roman emperor Hadrian and images of ancient gods and goddesses. To evoke the atmosphere of the archaeological site, film shots are shown on a 270-degree panoramic screen that floats in the middle of the room above a scale model of Sagalassos in its heyday. The highly original set, the use of media, the pervading atmosphere and the collection of masterpieces combine to make ‘Sagalassos, City of Dreams’ a ‘must see’ for the whole family.

Practical information

Sagalossos, City of dreams | 29/10/2011 - 17/6/2012

Gallo-Roman Museum, Kielenstraat 15, 3700 Tongeren, Belgium
Tel + 32 12 67 03 30, grm@limburg.be
www.galloromeinsmuseum.be

Cultural Heritage

Restoration of 'the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'

faro — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:16:59 +0000

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Joke Schauvliege (CD&V), the Flemish Minister of Culture, has approved the restoration procedure for 'The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb', the famous Ghent Alterpiece by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. The Royal Institute for the Cultural Heritage (KIK) will commence restoration work on the polyptych in the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) early next year. The entire operation will take five years.

Minister Schauvliege gave her approval after receiving a positive recommendation from the Masterpieces Council, which ensures the proper implementation of the Masterpieces Act, the legal framework for the most important cultural heritage items in Flanders. The KIK has been tasked with removing a coat of varnish from the panel which obscures the work and damages the paint underneath. In addition, they will also restore old retouches and retouch repainted areas where necessary, completing the work with a new layer of varnish. The baptistery in Ghent's St Bavo Cathedral, where the masterpiece can be viewed, is too small for the restoration work, so the KIK will install a secured restoration studio in the MSK. Here the public will be able to see how each panel is restored by four full-time art restorers.

The total cost of the entire restoration is estimated at 1.4 million euro. The Flemish departments of Culture and Heritage will pay 80% of this and the remainder will come from the St Bavo Cathedral church council.

More information

'Van Eyck: The Ghent Altarpiece', website by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK)

Cultural Heritage