[Hors les Murs] Dive into the heart of Flemish festivals in the 16th and 17th centuries!
Published on 17.04.2025
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium are joining forces with the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille for a groundbreaking exhibition exploring the social and cultural role of festivals in the 16th and 17th centuries. True moments for sharing and rejoicing, these celebrations were essential to the cohesion of communities, while serving as an outlet in a society marked by wars and epidemics.
Through nearly 100 works - paintings, engravings, drawings and historical objects - from prestigious Belgian and French collections, including those of the RMFAB and the Louvre, the exhibition highlights the many facets of festivities: princely balls, religious ceremonies, popular fairs and urban festivals. It also explores the way in which the State and the Church attempted to channel these festivities, while drawing on local customs to establish their authority.
This exhibition is the result of a fine collaboration between the curators of the PBA and the RMFAB. Sabine van Sprang, curator of Flemish painting from 1550 to 1650, will be co-curating the exhibition.
The first to list and analyse all the types of festivities from this period, this exhibition offers a fascinating insight into a heritage that is still perceptible today. A festive programme will enhance this immersion, with concerts, banquets and meetings at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille as part of lille3000's Fiesta season.
