Belgian Artwork

Belgian art prints bring together five centuries of art from Flanders and Belgium. This collection holds more than 7,600 art prints, from the village scenes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the Baroque grandeur of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck to the masks and crowds of James Ensor and the quiet, moody seascapes of Léon Spilliaert.

About Belgian Art

Long before Belgium existed as a country, the cities of Flanders were home to some of Europe's finest painters. In the 1420s Jan van Eyck and Robert Campin opened the period now called Early Netherlandish painting, which flourished in cities such as Bruges.

A century later Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted crowded village life and wide landscapes. The Fight Between Carnival and Lent dates from 1559, the large Tower of Babel from 1563, and in 1565 he painted a series showing different times of the year, which includes The Hunters in the Snow and The Harvesters.

In the 17th century Antwerp was the centre of Flemish Baroque painting, home to Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens.

Modern Belgian art was just as bold. In 1883 a group of artists in Brussels founded Les XX (The Twenty), with James Ensor among its founding members. Ensor painted Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889 in 1888, a huge crowd filling a city street. Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946), born in Ostend, made melancholy seascapes and searching self-portraits.

Style and Subjects

Flemish painting is known for rich detail. Bruegel fills his panels with tiny figures at work and play, and his followers and family carried the style on: the collection holds many works by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Rubens's pictures are full of movement and warm flesh tones, as in The Amazon Battle.

The 19th and early 20th centuries bring a change of mood. History painter Nicaise de Keyser painted scenes from the lives of earlier artists, such as Anthony van Dyck at the Court of Charles I. Ensor turns to masks and satire, and Spilliaert uses dark, empty spaces, as in his Self Portrait and L'eclair Vert Sur La Mer.

Famous Works

• The Fight Between Carnival and Lent (1559), Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Bruegel's crowded scene of the contest between Carnival and Lent.
• The Tower of Babel (c. 1563), Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The larger of Bruegel's two surviving versions; a smaller one is in Rotterdam.
• The Hunters in the Snow (1565), Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. One of five surviving paintings from his series on the times of the year.
• The Harvesters (1565), Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Workers cut wheat and rest in the shade in the summer heat; from the same series.
• Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889 (1888), James Ensor, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. A crowded procession fills a Brussels street.

Decorating with Belgian Prints

Bruegel's winter and harvest scenes suit a living room, dining room or kitchen, and they invite long looking, so hang them where people sit. A pair from his seasons series makes a good set.

Rubens and Van Dyck suit a formal room with dark wood or rich colours. Spilliaert's cool blues and greys bring calm to a bedroom or bathroom, and Ensor's bright, crowded scenes add character to a hallway or study.

FAQ

What is the difference between Flemish and Belgian art?

Flemish art is the art of Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region that includes Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent, and it goes back to the 15th century. Belgium became an independent country in 1830, so 'Belgian art' usually means art made after that date, though this collection includes both.

Where can I see Bruegel's paintings?

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna holds The Hunters in the Snow, The Tower of Babel and The Fight Between Carnival and Lent. The Harvesters is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

What was Les XX?

Les XX (The Twenty) was a group of artists founded in Brussels on 28 October 1883. James Ensor was one of its founding members.

Who were the great Flemish Baroque painters?

Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens, all based in Antwerp, led Flemish painting in the 17th century.

Related Artists

• Pieter Bruegel the Elder — painter of The Hunters in the Snow and The Tower of Babel
• Peter Paul Rubens — leading Flemish Baroque painter in Antwerp
• Anthony van Dyck — Antwerp portraitist and Rubens's younger contemporary
• James Ensor — founding member of Les XX, painter of Christ's Entry into Brussels
• Léon Spilliaert — Ostend painter of seascapes and self-portraits