In association with New York's Metropolitan
Museum the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum
plans a major survey of Pieter Bruegel's drawings
and prints. As well as a painter, Pieter Bruegel the
Elder (ca. 1525-Brussels 1569) was a superb
draughtsman. More than fifty of his surviving
sixty-eight drawings will be on show in the Boijmans
Van Beuningen Museum. In addition, his graphic
work will be represented by some forty prints. The
exhibits come from European and American
museums and various private collections. Due to the
rarity and fragility of these works on paper, an
exhibition of this size is an exceptional event.
Drawings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder were last seen in
public at an exhibition in Berlin in 1975. Since then, scholarly research has considerably added to our
knowledge of Bruegel's prints and drawings. One of the consequences of this research is that a large
number of drawings are no longer attributed to him. The Rotterdam and New York exhibitions convey
an impression of this revised oeuvre for the first time. Some of the de-attributed sheets will however be
shown in order to illustrate how our view of Bruegel as a draughtsman/designer has come to assume
clearer form.
Bruegel's drawings and prints will be supplemented by three 'dossier' exhibitions - small presentations
with a primarily educational slant - highlighting certain facets. They feature (a) the Master of the Small
Landscapes (an artist from Bruegel's circle who was the father of the Netherlandish village and country
scene and apparently the maker of most of the drawings formerly attributed to Bruegel), (b) the import
and export of art (notably prints) in Antwerp and Brussels in the sixteenth century, and (c) the
intellectual climate in those cities between 1550 and 1585. The underlying idea is humanism in Bruegel's
work, focusing on such aspects as religious tolerance, the relationship between town and country, the
interaction between different social groups and the function of satire and mockery. These facets reflect
the theme of the Rotterdam Cultural Capital 2001 event and presage the exhibition of Hieronymus
Bosch paintings to be held in the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum later that year as part of the same
event.
After Rotterdam, 'Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Master Draughtsman and Humanist' can only be seen at the
Metropolitan Museum in New York. The exhibition is accompanied by an English scholarly catalogue
and by a Dutch edition aimed at a wider readership.
The Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum is the only Dutch museum to boast works by Pieter Bruegel the
Elder in its collection. In addition to eight drawings and ten prints, the museum owns his world-famous
painting 'The Tower of Babel', which will occupy pride of place in the exhibition.
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