JAN BRUEGHEL - A MAGNIFICIENT DRAUGHTSMAN

Jan Brueghel was a prominent painter in his homerown of Anrwerp, as well as a good friend of Rubens with whom he frequently collaborated. It's perhaps less well known that Jan was also an exceptional draughtsman. At the Snijders&Rockox Home in Antwerp, some seventy works by Jan Brueghel are being brought together to create a unique exhibition running from 5 October 2019 until 26 January 2020. The catalogue celebrating this exhibition, Jan Brueghel ? A Magnificent Draughtsman, presents a significant cross-section of Jan Brueghel's authentic drawn oeuvre. The exhibition curators and the catalogue's principal authors are Dr. Teréz Gerszi, formerly Head of the Collection of Prints and Drawings at the Saépmûvésreti Müleum in Budapest, and Dr. Louisa Wood Ruby, Head of Research at the Frick Art Reference Library, New York, two eminent specialists in the art of the Netherlands of the 16th and 17th centuries, with a particular emphasis on drawings. The book includes a biography, essays by Dr.Teréz Gerszi and Dr. Louisa Wood Ruby concerning Jan Brueghel and his draughtsmanship, and six chapters in which Me drawings are discussed according to their Theme : sojourning in Italy, riverside and village scenes, study-sheers, roads and travellers, views of the sea and ports, coastal and impressions while travelling. The authors also place Jan's draughtsmanship within the context of his complete oeuvre and the times in which he lived. This publication, containing approximately 130 images, is at once a standard work of reference and, thanks to the sophisticated beauty of the drawings, a feast for the eyes.