Fêtes et célébrations flamandes

From urban ceremonies, village weddings and fairs, to courtly and royal feasts, this exhibition takes collective entertainment in the public space as a starting point for exploring Flemish celebrations in the 16th and 17th centuries. 
Depicting celebrations as social rituals and a form of escapism during epidemics or war, on the one hand, and as morally and politically charged, on the other, this exceptionally rich group will bring together nearly 100 paintings, engravings, drawings and realia from a number of international museums, mainly in Belgium and France. 

Under Franco-Belgian curatorship, this exhibition is the first to identify and explore all different types of celebration, taking visitors to a place whose unique regional traditions and values still resonate today. 

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General curator:
Juliette Singer, Director of the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille

Expert curators:
Blaise Ducos, Louvre Museum
Sabine van Sprang, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

This exhibition is coproduced by the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille and the GrandPalaisRMN, within the framework of lille3000’s Fiesta season. The exhibition has benefited from an exceptional partnership with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the Musée du Louvre, Paris. It was created thanks to its main sponsor the Fondation Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe and its sponsor, Beobank..

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↑ Fête traditionnelle à Anvers avec le géant Druon Antigon, 17e siècle. Lille, musée de l’Hospice Comtesse © GrandPalaisRmn / Stéphane Maréchalle