Drawings from the Album of Brussels from the Print Room of the BUW at an international exhibition at the MOU in Belgium
7 remarkable drawings from the collection of King Stanisław August were lent to the exhibition Margaret. The Emperor’s Daughter between Power and Image prepared by the Oudenaarde Museum (MOU). The works, by an anonymous artist from the circle of Frans Floris I (1519/20-1570), provide a spectacular visual account of the festive celebration of the marriage of Margaret of Parma’s son, which took place in Brussels in 1565 and was a momentous political event of its time. The exhibition also brings together works from more than 30 institutions, including: Louvre, Galleria Nazionale Parma, Museo Nazionale di Napoli, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna and The British Museum.
Margaret of Parma, Governess of the Habsburg Netherlands
The heroine of the exhibition (1522-1586) was born in the Flemish town of Oudenaarde (now Belgium) as the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V and the daughter of a local tapestry maker, Johanna van der Gheynst. At the age of seven she was officially recognized and took the name Margaret of Austria. She married Alexander de Medici and, after his untimely death, Octavius Farnese. She was a remarkable woman: between 1559 and 1567, a troubled time at the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War, she was governess general of the Netherlands, which at the time was struggling for liberation from Spanish rule. She also became known as an influential figure in the Italian upper classes and a lover and patron of the arts.
Drawings from the BUW the main character of the first part of the exhibition at the MOU
The Brussels Album from the royal collection of Stanisław August kept in the Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library (BUW) consists of 13 beautiful drawings made with water colors on parchment. They illustrate step by step the successive episodes and events of the Margaret’s son Brussels wedding festivities. Due to their documentary nature, it is these works that formed the axis of the narrative in the first room of the exhibition at the Oudenaarde Museum. Enlargements of selected fragments of drawings placed on the walls provide a reference point for the collected exhibits. They organize the space, creating a story about the fascinating court customs of the 16th century abounding in colorful tournaments, balls and sumptuous feasts.
The drawings from the Brussels Album are among the most valuable works in the BUW collection. Arrangements for their lending lasted from early 2023, and representatives of several departments of the Library were involved in the preparation and transfer of the objects, including: The Print Room, the Conservation Deparment, the Electronic Resources Deparment and the Promotion, Exhibitions and Cooperation Deparment. In the course of negotiations, the initial list of drawings was narrowed down, mainly due to the welfare of the objects, to seven works. The objects from the BUW were among the first on loan from the MOU to be transported and installed in the exhibition.
The Brussels Album is not available to the general public, and so far mostly single drawings from the collection have been presented as part of teaching classes in the BUW Print Room or during exhibitions. The exhibition at the MOU will be a unique opportunity to see a significant part of this remarkable resource.
Queen of Belgium at the exhibition on Margaret of Parma
The MOU exhibition was graced by a distinguished guest — on October 6, Queen Mathilde of Belgium came to see it. During her visit, the queen was guided through several museum halls and the exhibition, where she viewed i.a. drawings from the Brussels Album from the BUW.
An encounter with 16th century culture, art and customs in Margaret’s hometown
The exhibition Margaret. The Emperor’s Daughter between Power and Image can be seen at the Oudenaarde Museum from September 21, 2024 to January 5, 2025.
The exhibition, in addition to seven extraordinary drawings from the collection of the BUW and a magnificent tapestry commissioned by Margaret, and now part of the Wawel collection, will feature famous portraits, paintings commissioned by Margaret, textiles, miniatures, gold and silverware, objects that once belonged to the governess of the Netherlands, and even a fragment of a stained glass window removed from a church in Gouda. They make up an interesting guide to the culture, customs and traditions of court life in the 16th century.
More information about the exhibition: Margaret | Stad Oudenaarde
Published: 18 September 2024