Why did Hans Memling paint
everything in such minute detail? How did Rubens, in just a few
brushstrokes, create special effects that Steven Spielberg would envy?
And why was the Southern Netherlands the artistic centre of the world
for three centuries?


From Memling to Rubens: The Golden Age of Flanders
tells the story of Flemish art from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries,
as you've never read it before. It's a rollercoaster ride through 300
years of cultural history. Leading the charge are breathtaking
masterpieces from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation, unknown gems
by the likes of Hans Memling, Quinten Metsys, Peter Paul Rubens and
Anthony Van Dyck that plunge you into a world full of folly and sin,
fascination and ambition. Along the way you'll bump into dukes and
emperors, rich citizens and poor saints, picture galleries like wine
cellars, and Antwerp as Hollywood on the Scheldt.


This is a
stirring tale about the image and its meaning, and the link between
culture and society. Above all, it's about us, and about who we are
today - as people.


Published on the occasion of the exhibition From Memling to Ruben - The Golden Age of Flanders,during Autumn 2020, in the Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn (Estonia).