Shedding Light on the ‘Collaborative Kings’ of Antwerp, Dresden's Old Masters Show!
Antique Masterpieces from Antwerp's Artistic Past Discovered in Dresden - Antiquated Masterpieces from Antwerp's Archive Discovered in Dresden
Let's dive in!
The 17th-century Flemish artists were all about camaraderie, unity, and sharing the paint-laden love: The latest, hot-off-the-press research gracing the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery reveals how renowned painters and their creative squads united forces, coordinated in structured processes, and slapped color onto canvas together to create masterpieces by hand. The exhilarating exhibition, aptly named "Teamwork in Antwerp!", owes its existence to the Saxon State Art Collections (SKD), with merely six loans from external museums and collectors.
"Look, Ma, no loans!" exclaimed Bernd Ebert, the General Director of SKD, as he waved a metaphorical hand towards the throng of artwork adorning the Semper Building. “A decent chunk of these bad boys have been buried in storage since World War II,” he added, "with some never-before-seen works from the workshops of the Bruegel and Francken families." The curator for the show, Uta Neidhardt, has spent years delving into the world of Flemish painting and believes the exhibition spotlights the celebrated clans of Bruegel, van Balen, and Francken.
These artistic powerhouses formed interconnected networks, collaborating within families and squaring off with rivals to crank out coveted cabinet paintings. "The savvy middle class was all about the small, posh trinkets, not gigantic altarpieces or history paintings," said Neidhardt, "so artists focused on maximizing efficiency and quality in response to the escalating demand for small-format landscapes, still lifes, biblical scenes, or mythological figure paintings."
Time to Raise the (Art) Roof
Ebert gleefully sesh-ed the treasures nestled away in the SKD vaults, declaring the exhibition serves as a testament to the vastness of the collections and the dedication of the team behind it. “With our collections, our know-how, and our drive, we can put together world-class exhibitions, not requiring external loans as a pre-requisite," he quipped.
The show highlights how artistic collaboration was organized, revealing the players involved and the methods employed to bring these painty wonders to life. Occasionally, differentiating assistants' work from the big cheese can be a challenge, Neidhardt admitted, because they often produced versions so close to the original they were practically carbon copies.
Welcome to Art School: The Sequel
A whopping 45 paintings were given the white-glove treatment as part of the research project, including "The Sermon of John the Baptist" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, a renovated piece unveiled in the exhibit. According to Neidhardt, it’s "an outstanding rendition of one of the 36 known variations of the original." The jaw-dropping pen drawing "The Goose Herd," hailing from the Dresden Print Cabinet, is another spectacle of the show, often found in other paintings and rarely revealed for public viewing.
Where's It At?
- Antwerp
- Dresden
- Pieter Bruegel
- Artistic Collaboration
- Saxony
[1] Dresden: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister / [2] Pieter Bruegel the Elder / [3] Cooperative Artistic Practices / [4] Artistic Exchange in Antwerp
In the world of Flemish painting, the celebrated clans of Bruegel, van Balen, and Francken showcased cooperative artistic practices, collaborating to meet the escalating demand for small-format landscapes and other scene paintings. In Dresden, the Old Masters Picture Gallery displays such works, including "The Sermon of John the Baptist" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, a testament to artistic exchange in Antwerp.
When exploring art and lifestyle, understanding collaborative artistic practices is crucial, as it illuminates the interconnected networks that allowed artistic titans to crank out coveted works. In the realms of fashion-and-beauty, home-and-garden, and travel, such collaborative spirits can lead to innovative creations that enhance our current and future lifestyles.
