FACES THEN
Renaissance Portraits from the Low Countries
With around 50 exceptional portraits from the Low Countries FACES THEN gives us a
good overview of different portrait genres and their role in the 16 th century. It is the first
major retrospective of this subject since 1953.
06.02 > 17.05.2015
Joos Van Cleve, Self-portrait, ca. 1519, Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza ||| Anonymous master, Portrait of a Man, c. 1575, Art Institute of
Chicago ||| Ambrosius Benson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1530, Private Collection
The 16th century was the golden age of the portrait. For centuries only saints and monarchs enjoyed
the privilege of having their portrait painted. As of the late 15th century the share of portraiture grew
exponentially in line with the economy and meant that the bourgeoisie were now able to have
themselves immortalised increasingly often.
The works in the exhibition are of a sublime aesthetic quality and bear witness to an exceptional
craftsmanship on the part of the artists. The Low Countries (Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Amsterdam,
Utrecht, Haarlem…) confirmed their reputation as one of the most important centres of portraiture.
Artists such as Quentin Metsys, Joos van Cleve, Simon Bening, Ambrosius Benson,
Joachim Beuckelaer and Catharina van Hemessen immortalised their contemporaries in
astonishingly deft and incredibly detailed, almost photorealistic, paintings.
The exhibition includes a few rare loans, such as the Portrait of an Old Woman (Museum of Fine
Arts, Caen) by Frans Floris de Vriendt, the Portrait of Jan Van Scorel (Society of Antiquaries) by
Anthonis Mor and the Portrait of a Man (Private collection) by Ambrosius Benson. The Self Portrait
(Galleria degli Uffizi) by Anthonis Mor is, for example, one of the renowned works of art history.
Portrait and identity
The artists from the Low Countries believed that the visible world was God’s creation and
couldn’t be meddled with. As a result they strove for a depiction that was as true to life as
possible. By adding small imperfections, such as wrinkles, scars or birthmarks, they tried to get a grip
on what makes man an individual. This outlook was diametrically opposed to the beliefs of artists
from the Italian Renaissance, such as Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, who tried to
idealise the subject of the portrait and sought the universal in mankind. The confrontation
between both visions made room for experiment: artists looked for a synthesis between both visions
and there was an unseen multiplicity of interpretations of the portrait during this period.
Striving for the so-called ‘pure reproduction of reality’ was thus doomed to fail. Every work of art is
nonetheless an artistic interpretation of reality by the artist. A portrait is in its very essence a
construction of the identity of the person portrayed, through the choice of pose, attire, backdrop
or attributes. This raises fascinating questions about the relationship between the portrayed and the
artist, about how the person portrayed sees himself and about the way he wishes to present himself to
the outside world.
Curators
Art historian Till-Holger Borchert, born in Germany and specialised in 14th and 15th century art, has
been head curator of the Groeninge Museum and the Arentshuis in Bruges since 2003 and writes
authoritatively about the art of the Netherlands. Memling’s Portraits (Bruges / New York, Frick
Collection / Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza) is one of the most important exhibitions that he has
curated. His book Meesterwerk was praised by the Financial Times as one of the best art books of
2014.
Koenraad Jonckheere lectures in Northern Baroque Art at the University of Ghent and published
about the art market of the 17th and 18th century and about portraiture in 16th century Antwerp. He was
curator of the exhibition about Michiel Coxcie in Museum M in Leuven.
BOZAR EXPO spring 2015: Focus on ‘the other’
In the spring of 2015 BOZAR EXPO will focus on ‘the other’. The spring programme bridges the gap
between Renaissance portraits and contemporary portrait photography, between Europe and the
Ottoman Empire.
The diptych FACES THEN. Renaissance Portraits from the Low Countries and FACES
NOW. European Portrait Photography since 1990 offers a balanced view of the Western
painting tradition of portraiture. The portrait has a different status to a landscape or a still life: if
you look at a portrait, you are looking at “the other”.
To complement this BOZAR is putting on the exhibition The Sultan’s World. The Ottoman
Orient in Renaissance Art. Highlights include the portraits of the Eastern rulers and Western
merchants by Venetian masters such as Tintoretto, Bellini, Titian and Veronese’s workshop. The focus
on “the other” is thus extended to encompass another culture.
The three exhibitions together form fascinating links between time and space. They tell a multifaceted tale of the construction of identities and influences on perception, a debate that is
extremely relevant in this age of social media, selfies and rising globalisation. With these three
exhibitions the Centre for Fine Arts is providing its public with the opportunity to gain a broader
understanding of portraiture and the concept of representation from different perspectives.
What image does an artist decide to exhibit of himself, of others or of other cultures? To what extent
does this construction influence the perception of reality?
The entire programme is part of the Centre for Fine Art’s mission to come up with exhibitions which
focus on centuries of artistic cross-pollination and the history and identity of Europe.
Curators: Till-Holger Borchert, Koenraad Jonckheere
Support: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken | Ministère des Affaires étrangères
With works by: Simon Bening , Ambrosius Benson, Quentin Metsys, Bernard van Orley, Michel
Sittow, Joos van Cleve, Floris van de Vriendt, Master of the Magdalena Legend, Marteen van
Heemskerck,Anthonis Mor, Joachim Beuckelaer, Willem Key, Adriaen Thomasz. Key, Frans I
Pourbus, Pieter Pourbus, Catharina van Hemessen
VISITOR INFORMATION
FACES THEN. Renaissance Portraits from the Low Countries
From the 6th of February until the 17th of May 2015
BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts, Rue Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000 Brussels
Open: Tuesdays to Sundays: 10 am> 6 pm (Thursdays: 10 am > 9 pm)
Closed: Mondays
TICKETS
Ticket: € 10/8 (BOZARfriends)
Combitickets:
FACES NOW/FACES THEN: € 14/12
The Sultan’s World + FACES NOW/FACES THEN: € 21/19
VISITOR INFORMATION
Visitor guide: € 1
Catalogue: € 49,50 (256p. NL/FR, BOZAR BOOKS & Hannibal), Hardcover, 31 x 24 cm
GUIDED TOURS
This Spring, BOZAR not only organizes guided visits per exhibition, but also offers tours with the
highlights of the different exhibitions.
Guide: € 75/ 95 (weekends)
BOZAR INFO& TICKETS
www.bozar.be – info@bozar.be – 0032 2 507 82 00
PRESS CONTACT
leen.daems@bozar.be - T +32 2 507 83 89 – M. +32 479 98 66 07
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