Pieter Bruegel the Elder died 450 years ago and was buried in the Brussels Chapel Church. To commemorate this, many exhibitions and activities are organized around the theme of Bruegel and the 16th century Brussels. You can discover a full program here on visit.brussels website or get some inspiration here below:
visit.brussels joined forces with the Farm Prod collective to honour Pieter Bruegel by developing a street art trail in the very city centre. The route runs past institutions and locations that have a story to tell about Bruegel (a historic link, a permanent collection, etc.). There will be eleven wall paintings of different sizes on show, produced by artists from the collective as well as renowned guest artists.
A first glimpse of the work on this trail can already be seen on Rue Haute, close to the Porte de Halle. It is a work by the French artist Lazoo, inspired by the “The Wedding Dance”. A second monumental work has just been inaugurated, right in front of the main entrance of BOZAR, on the Rue Baron Horta.
From mid-June onward, at least eleven frescoes, also painted by artists forming part of the collective together with famous invited artists, will be able to be admired along the trail. A great opportunity to discover Bruegel in a different light.
Farm Prod is a collective uniting several visual artists around various creative projects that culminated in Brussels in 2003. Each member has the same visual arts education, but develops their own personal style and universe, while simultaneously nourishing a prolific collectivity amongst its members. Today FARMPROD welds its members and their complimentary skills within a collective.
450 years Pieter Bruegel in 2019
Brussels and Bruegel are inextricably linked. Not only did the most important part of his life took place in Brussels but he is also buried here and you can still admire an important part of his oeuvre in Brussels’ finest museums.
To be closer to the centre of money and power and thus potential clients, Bruegel moved to Brussels in 1563 to established himself in the Marolles. At that time the Chapel area, now known as the Marolles, was all but a working-class neighbourhood. The spacious house in which he lived was located in one of the richest streets in Brussels. In the 16th century, Brussels was one of the most important political centres in Europe. Charles V had one if his main residences at the Coudenberg Palace, now a museum, at the nearby Mont des Arts. Brussels was a real hub for artists and a new urban nobility. Be sure to pass by the so called ‘Bruegel’s house’, an original 16th century house!
Brussels and the surrounding Pajottenland served as a great inspiration for Bruegel: two-thirds of his total of forty paintings were painted there! A few minutes’ walk from the Marolles, on the Mont des Arts, lived his powerful patrons. Today it houses an important part of Bruegel’s work: after the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium possesses the largest collection of paintings by Bruegel, and the Royal Library holds no fewer than 90 prints! All these treasures will be exhibited 2019 so that they can be admired fully. After his death, Bruegel was buried in the Chapel Church in the Marolles, where the funeral monument erected in his honour can still be visited. To get a feel of this vibrant period in Brussels’ history, a visit to the Halle Gate Museum is a must!
Find more info about Bruegel and Brussels on dedicated visit.brussels website.
Exhibitions about Bruegel – A series of interesting exhibitions around Bruegel and the 16th century throughout 2019! More info.
Events around the theme of Bruegel – great activities for young and old, something for everyone! More info.
