Musea Brugge. Van Eyck in Bruges

Within the context of 'The Year of Van Eyck', the exhibition is centred around two masterpieces by Jan van Eyck, the Burgundian court painter from Bruges.

Madonna with Canon Joris Van der Paele (1434-36) is described as a "masterpiece of masterpieces" and widely considered one of van Eyck's most fully realized and ambitious works, while Portrait of Margaretha van Eyck (1439), one of the earliest European artworks depicting a painter's wife.

The exhibition documents the life of van Eyck (1390-1441) in Bruges. It also focuses on the life of Joris van der Paele, a former papal scribe in Rome, who commissioned the first painting. He was gravely ill when the painting was made and it portrays him reflecting upon his position as a canon of the church and his own mortality.

In the run-up to this exhibition, the Groeningemuseum has been completely redesigned with a renewed circuit and display highlighting the diversity of its unique collection of works from the late 14th century up to the 20th century.

VAN EYCK IN BRUGES

12 MARCH – 12 JULY 2020

GROENINGEMUSEUM, BRUGES | BELGIUM