»Flemish painters from the 15th to 17th centuries created extraordinary works of art amid a period of political turmoil and unprecedented prosperity,« says Karina H. Corrigan, who serves as coordinating curator of the exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) and is associate director of PEM Collections. »Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools will transport visitors to this remarkable time in history and consider the many ways Flemish art and culture has shaped the world we live in today.« The exhibition includes around 130 works from the Phoebus Foundation, which conceived the show together with the Denver Art Museum, and 60 paintings from the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum. Visitors can expect a detailed insight into art, politics and society in Flanders from the late Middle Ages to the Baroque period. Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks will be on view at PEM in Salem, Massachusetts from December 14, 2024 through May 4, 2025.
The exhibition offers an exceptional opportunity, as some of the paintings on display are rarely seen in public. Among the painters on display are Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Hans Memling, Jan Gossaert, Jan Brueghel, Clara Peeters, Jacob Jordaens, Frans Francken and Michaelina Wautier. From sacred paintings, landscapes, still lifes, portraits and special features of Flemish painting such as the popular pictorial puzzles, visitors can expect beautiful, amusing and terrifying works that still impress and appeal 500 years after their creation.
