The economic and cultural flourishing of Antwerp in the first half of the 17th century unleashed an extraordinary wave of innovation and creative energy among the city’s artists. At the same time, there was a growing demand for cabinet-format paintings that were affordable for the urban bourgeoisie.
Specialized painters of genre scenes, landscapes, and still lifes—such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Younger, Hendrick van Balen, and Frans Francken—stood at the forefront of highly productive artistic workshops. These painters and their studios formed networks and collaborated on the production of paintings with a level of intensity and professionalism previously unseen in Netherlandish art.
The rich collection of Flemish cabinet paintings in the Old Masters Picture Gallery offers a particularly fitting foundation for a special exhibition dedicated to the Brueg(h)el, Van Balen, and Francken dynasties and their artistic collaborations. Key works and high-quality pieces from their workshops are brought together in the exhibition to form a 'school of seeing', placed in dialogue with one another. The exhibition aims to shed light on how these workshops—often active over several generations and involving numerous collaborators—interacted and operated.
Extensive technical examinations of the group of around 40 paintings, along with several remarkable restorations, provide new insights into the creation process of these works—many of which were produced collaboratively by two or even three artists. They also shed light on questions of stylistic transformation and the migration of motifs. The exceptionally high quality of this group of Dresden paintings allows for exemplary conclusions about their artistic genesis and sharpens the understanding of the economic, social, and religious contexts that shaped these production strategies.
The concept and aims of the exhibition can be presented almost entirely through works from the museum’s own collection. A number of outstanding key works by the respective artist dynasties will serve as anchor points within the exhibition. These include select loans from other museums.
