Bruegel to Rubens at Buckingham Palace

An exhibition of paintings from Bruegel to Rubens at Buckingham Palace looks at the masters of Flemish painting from the 15th to 17th centuries. With stunning masterpieces from the likes of Hans Memling, Breugel the Elder and Van Dyck, the exhibition of Bruegel to Rubens is the first ever exhibition to be mounted at the Royal Collection.

51 paintings have been brought together in this exploration of Flemish masters on show at Buckingham Palace until April 2009. Admired across Europe for their meticulous technique and extraordinary realism, painters from the Flemish school, including Bruegel and Rubens depicted beautiful landscapes and clever portraits, and these vibrant paintings are on show at Buckingham Palace in this exhibition.

Flemish portraiture was renowned for its trickery of the eye in its use of visual devices to intensify the relationship between the viewer and the subject. In Bruegel to Rubens at Buckingham Palace paintings like Hans Memling's Portrait of a Man, the sitter projects out into the viewers space, and The Boy at the Window is a striking example of this trompe l'eoil technique, as leans forward to tap on the frame and looks directly into the viewers eyes.

Another recurring theme in Flemish painting over the two hundred years that the exhibition covers is the depiction of an ancient tale retold in a modern context. One of the most famous examples on show in Bruegel to Rubens at Buckingham Palace is the Massacre of the Innocents by Pieter Bruegel, which depicts a Flemish village covered with snow. A satrire of the Habsburgs overlords, the Imperial troops are cast as the criminals, while the villagers are shown as the innocents.

Portraiture from the likes of Van Dyck and Rubens have become renowned the world over for their attentionm to details and stunning realistic depictions. From the late 16th century to the mid 17th century, a series of vibrant portraits of the Archduke Albert and the Infantas Isabella, regents of the Spanish crown are the highlight of the latter half of the exhibition of Bruegel to Rubens at Buckingham Palace.

With rich colours and a delicate sensuality, pictures in the same style but of very different subject matter make up the concluding part of the show. Simple interiors and peasant portraits from painters like David Teniers depict the growing stability of the Flemish identity.

Bruegel to Rubens, Masters of Flemish Painting is on show at Buckingham Palace, Royal Collection until Sunday 26th April 2009.

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