Faith and Whimsy Collide in Flemish Masterpieces at the Dallas Museum of Art

From the 1400s to the 1600s, what happened in Flanders did not stay in Flanders.

Centuries ago, Flanders, the northern part of Belgium including Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels, was a sophisticated and influential center of trade, entrepreneurship and art. Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks, now on view at the Dallas Museum of Art through June 25, traces developments in that era’s art production as well as the evolution of Flemish society and culture.

“Flanders in the later medieval period was a bit like Dallas of today. It was a place where money met power met creativity met talent met innovation,” said Dr. Katharina Van Cauteren, the exhibition’s curator and the chief of staff of The Phoebus Foundation.

Organized by the Denver Art Museum in collaboration with The Phoebus Foundation, the exhibition features 130 works of art from The Phoebus Foundation’s collection of Flemish artworks, including pieces by Hans Memling, Jan Gossaert, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens and Anthony van Dyck.

Van Cauteren argues there is more than beauty to be found in these masterpieces.

“Suddenly, this object becomes a gateway into the past,” Van Cauteren said. “And if you scratch just a little bit deeper, you’ll notice that it’s about very recognizable things. It’s about status and prestige. It’s about fear of death. It’s about friends, love for each other, for a child. In the end it’s not something that happened like 300 years ago far away from here. It’s about who we are as human beings.”

The exhibition begins with the late medieval period’s preoccupation with religion and the afterlife. To guarantee an individual would spend eternity in heaven, a considerable amount of prayer and/or observation of God in nature was encouraged. Busy entrepreneurs didn’t have time to sit around and pray all day or go for long walks. An elaborate painting at home could help.

“If you have a painting in your house with every tiny detail,” Van Cauteren explained. “After a long day’s work, you can sit on your sofa and look at your picture, and you can study every single detail, contemplate it, and make sure after this life you would go to heaven.”

Soon, Flemish entrepreneurs decided having a painting of themselves praying might ensure their salvation, as long as the portrait was distinctive enough so they wouldn’t be confused for someone else.

“You have to make sure that it is a precise portrait,” Van Cauteren said. “It’s almost harsh. Look at the shadows under the eyes. Look at the gray hairs. There is no mercy. There is no photoshopping here.”

Out of that religious posture grew the popularity of portraiture. Noblemen and wealthy people could flaunt their status and promote themselves in carefully created portraits. Women wear expensive lace collars that were itchy and tangled their hair. Men were depicted wearing black because that was the most expensive color and red to designate their nobility.

“So, if you look around here, you see all of these wealthy people from Flanders in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, showing off,” Van Cauteren said.

The exhibition celebrates the Flemings’ exploration of the world in an effort to better understand the divine. In Flanders, every aspect of creation was examined. A print series in the exhibition is dedicated to the inventions and discoveries made in Flanders during this time period.

“It’s amazing to think that all of these things which are still relevant and existing today – well, they date back to 16^th century Flanders,” Van Cauteren said.

While the first half of the exhibition boasts about Flanders’ wealth and piety, artists introduce a humbling character: the fool.

“In the 16^th century Flanders, there is this quite unique new genre of painting coming up which shows these fools. They’re supposed to be some kind of mirror to show you, ‘Well, maybe you think you are all very smart and important, but in the end you and me, we’re all just fools,’” Van Cauteren said.

These works satirize greed, lust, arrogance and many other human frailties with a wink and a smile.

The Eighty Years’ War from 1568 to 1648 shaped the artistic output of Ruben and Van Dyck as the Reformation challenged political norms.

“You see these large-scale religious, very emotional pictures and they are supposed to give you goosebumps, to really try to convince you the Catholic Church is the only right one, the only right choice,” Van Cauteren said.

The final section of the exhibition highlights Flemings’ love of art and curiosities. By the 17^th century, middle class families would have a collection of 20 to 50 paintings or artworks. Eventually, paintings of collectors with their paintings became popular.

“If you were very proud of your collection, you have it immortalized,” Van Cauteren said.

In one painting, a couple stands in a vast room, surrounded by impressive works. When art conservators studied the work, they discovered five men once occupied the space where the couple now stands. After purchasing the painting of paintings, the couple had the men removed and inserted themselves.

“And for three centuries, we believed it was their collection,” Van Cauteren said.

One of the few works by a woman on display is Vanitas Bust of a Lady by Catarina Yiken. This tiny oil painting depicts a beautifully dressed skull, perhaps as a sobering nod to the self-deprecating Flemish sense of humor infused throughout this exhibition.

“The basic message is, ‘Ladies, don’t be vain. Because in the end, your flower will perish and birds will eat your berries,’” Van Cauteren said.

Learn more: Dallas Museum of Art