FROM VAN DYCK TO BELLOTTO
Splendor at the Court of Savoy

In the light of the success of the Ensor to Bosch exhibition in 2005, the Centre for Fine Arts and the Vlaamse Kunstcollectie are getting together again in the spring of 2009, this time with a third partner: the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, home to the magnificent collection of the House of Savoy. This extraordinary project highlights the interest in the Flemish masters shown by the family that gave Italy its first king. See works by Jan "Velvet" Brueghel, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony Van Dyck, alongside those of Italian masters from the 15th to the 18th century. The latter include Bernardo Bellotto, heir to the photographic vision of his master, Canaletto, and painter of a splendid View of Turn from the Royal Park. Turin, in turn, will host a selection of outstanding works from the Bruges and Antwerp collections in 2010. A fine reward for the Vlaamse Kunstcollectie, whose scholarly expertise has contributed so greatly to this exhibition at the Centre for Fine Arts.

Galleria Sabauda, now closed because of restoration works, will open to public in 2011, just in time to be one of the main attractions of Turin’s celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Italian unification.

Highlights
· One of the most important collections of Flemish painting in Europe
· Paintings by great Italian and Flemish masters, including masterpieces by Rubens never previously exhibited in Belgium
· A room entirely devoted to Caravaggesque painting
· Two superb illuminated manuscripts from the Royal Library of Belgium
· A group of magnificent Brussels tapestries, never previously shown in Belgium
· A multidisciplinary festival, in the context of the exhibition, focusing on the contemporary artistic scene in Turin
· An exceptional partnership with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the museums of Bruges, Antwerp, and Ghent, which will exhibit works related to the theme of the exhibition


Curator: Carla Enrica Spantigati