Bruegel and Beyond – Netherlandish Drawings in the Royal Library of Belgium, 1500-1800

Awe-inspiring reference work on the Flemish and Dutch art of drawing from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, with masterly drawings from the collection of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR)

The Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels houses the largest collection of drawings in the country. Among its highlights are works by leading artists of the Low Countries, including Pieter Bruegel I, Joris Hoefnagel, Hendrick Goltzius, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Jacques Jordaens.

As the library’s collection has been little studied up to now, it is largely unknown to scholars and the general public. To acquaint a wider audience with these important works of art, this richly illustrated publication brings together for the first time over one hundred master drawings from the Royal Library’s vaults. Not only new art-historical insights are presented, but also numerous rediscovered drawings and revised attributions to artists such as Maarten van Heemskerck and Karel van Mander.

This carefully researched book, written by thirty specialists in the field, aims to make a significant contribution to our knowledge of the history of Netherlandish drawing from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries.

Daan van Heesch is Head of Prints and Drawings at the Royal Library of Belgium.

Sarah Van Ooteghem is an independent art historian. Between 2012 and 2018, she was Assistant Curator of Drawings at the Royal Library of Belgium.

Joris Van Grieken is Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Royal Library of Belgium.