Anthony van Dyck: master of refinement and elegance

Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, Dendermonde, Antoon van Dyck, Aanbidding der Herders, (c) Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen
Herita - Lucid
Anyone getting their own atelier with Rubens at the age of sixteen is cut from the best painter’s wood. The master considered Van Dyck to be his very best student. Together they form the defining painters of the baroque.

What is remarkable about Van Dyck is his technique, which – like Titian – is characterised by fast and visible brushstrokes. With the emotive expressions of his characters and his mastery in foreshortened perspective, he influenced numerous artists.

Van Dyck was active throughout Europe. He learned the craft with Rubens and then went to Italy to work at the court of Duke Charles Emanuel of Savoy. His success in Italy laid the foundations for his career in England, where he was knighted as the court painter of King Charles I.

The iconic portraits of Van Dyck are unique in European art history. Like no other, he balanced the aristocratic with the informal and incorporated sublime architectural backgrounds and fabrics. His master tour takes you to Ghent, Dendermonde, Kortrijk and Zaventem, and you can also find traces of the master in Antwerp and Mechelen. 

Hidden Flemish Masters put on the map

Discover these Flemish Masters in situ

Sint-Michielskerk Gent (interieur)
Art in Flanders

Saint Michael’s Church (Gent)

The Gothic church exhibits a remarkable unity of style, which is also reflected in the interior. It is a haven of peace within the city centre of Ghent.
Aanbidding der Herders door Anthony van Dyck
Katrien Van Acker - KIK

Church of Our Lady (Dendermonde)

Two paintings by the brilliant Anthony van Dyck in one location. Who can match what’s on display in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Dendermonde?
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk Kortrijk
P.M.R. Maeyaert (CC Wikimedia)

Church of Our Lady (Kortrijk)

With great bravura and a sense of dynamism, Antoon van Dyck painted the Raising of the Cross for the atmospheric Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Kortrijk.
Sint-Pauluskerk in Antwerpen
Sint-Pauluskerk Antwerpen

Saint Paul’s church (Antwerpen)

What is the one place, apart from a museum, where we can find paintings by the three greatest Baroque painters of Antwerp: Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens?

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RUBENS_zelfportret_FOTO NA restauratie © FOTO NA RESTAURATIE_9_Peter Paul Rubens, Zelfportret, Rubenshuis Antwerpen, opname 12 april 2018, na restauratie KIK-IRPA, foto KIK-IRPA Brussel
FOTO NA RESTAURATIE_9_Peter Paul Rubens, Zelfportret, Rubenshuis Antwerpen, opname 12 april 2018, na restauratie KIK-IRPA, foto KIK-IRPA Brussel

Peter Paul Rubens: the genius of Antwerp

Artist, marketer, scientist, diplomat and family man. Rubens was an extraordinary talent, but also an ordinary man.
66 Kappeletje St_Bernadus Watou 7050 © Westtoer
Westtoer

Artists’ homes

That makes the Flemish Masters in situ so unique: you admire the works in the place where the artist created them.