Palazzo Ducale in Genoa is holding an exhibition dedicated to Anton van Dyck from March 20 to July 19, 2026, entitled Van Dyck the European. The Journey of a Genius from Antwerp to Genoa and London, set up in the rooms of the Doge’s Apartment and the Doge’s Chapel. The exhibition represents the most relevant retrospective of the Flemish painter in the last twenty-five years, after the international exhibitions dedicated to Van Dyck in the 1990s, and offers a broad overview of the career of one of the most important artists in the history of European art.The exhibition is curated by Anna Orlando and Katlijne Van der Stighelen, assisted by an international committee of scholars including Anna Maria Bava, Maria Grazia Bernardini, Raffaella Besta, Nils Büttner, Luca Lo Basso, Gregory Martin, Jennifer Scott, Alejandro Vergara, Hans Vlieghe, and Bert Watteeuw.
The event focuses on the artist’s ability to engage with different cultural and social contexts, translating the sensibilities of different eras and environments into innovative pictorial formulas. The exhibition is developed through ten thematic sections, which include 58 works on loan from landmark museums such as the Louvre in Paris, the Prado and the Thyssen Museum in Madrid, the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, as well as private collections and foundations such as Phoebus in Belgium and Gaudium Magnum in Portugal. The exhibition aims to outline the Van Dyck of the three homelands-Flanders in Aversa,Italy andEngland-and the three main phases of his career. Of particular note is the Italian period, between 1621 and 1627, in which Genoa played a central role. The exhibition does not follow a chronological order, but favors a thematic approach that highlights how the artist managed to adapt to the tastes and needs of different patrons while maintaining consistency and originality in his pictorial research.
Alongside the portraits, an activity that consolidated Van Dyck’s fame, visitors can view sacred works, in which theatrical representation and pathos are combined with religious content. Notable works in this section include the Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine from the Prado, St. Sebastian from the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, and the previously unpublished Ecce Homo from a private European collection. Of particular interest is the Crucifixion from the small church of San Michele di Pagana in Rapallo, the only public altarpiece made by Van Dyck for Liguria, which is exceptionally exhibited at the Ducal Palace. The exhibition also includes the painter’s first known self-portrait, made as a teenager and from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Notable loans include the Portrait of Charles V on Horseback from the Uffizi, the Three Giustiniani Longo Children from the National Gallery in London, the Samson and Delilah from the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, the Portrait of the Palatine Princes from the Louvre, a study for St. Jerome from the Phoebus Foundation, and The Four Ages of Man from the Museo Civico di Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza.
The exhibition also includes an integration with the Genoese civic collections, offering an in-depth look at paintings by Van Dyck and his Nordic contemporaries in the Strada Nuova Museums, between Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco. The exhibition thus aims to enhance the local heritage and connect the painter’s historical presence with the city of Genoa, which preserved tangible traces of his passage.
The exhibition design is by Giovanni Tortelli and Roberto Frassoni Associati. The exhibition catalog is published by Allemandi, with an English edition edited by Belgian publisher Hannibal Books. The exhibition is produced by Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura, with support from the Region of Liguria and the City of Genoa. The main sponsor is Banca Passadore. Pre-sales will be available from Saturday, December 20, on the official website of the Palazzo Ducale.
Prices: 15 euros: full price - 13 euros: reduced price
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| Van Dyck at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa: the Flemish master's European journey |
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