Belgio
The Flemish Masters Tour: a journey into the artistic soul of Flanders
An itinerary that turns Flanders into a diffuse museum: the "Tour of the Masters" invites you to discover the legacy of the great Flemish artists in the places where they lived and created. From medieval churches to Ensor's coastal landscapes, a journey through time between genius, history and boundless beauty.
By Redazione | 15/10/2025 23:32
Flanders presents itself as a vast diffuse museum, a cultural network in which art places are not simply containers, but focal points connected by an extraordinary "red thread." It is on the basis of this idea that the Flemish government, through the promotion body Toerisme Vlaanderen, intended to promote an itinerary to bring out this intrinsic link: thus was born the idea of the "Tour of the Masters," an itineario that not only proposes a succession of cultural destinations, but offers an experience in the footsteps of Flemish artists. The concept of fil rouge manifests itself in suggestive and poetic ways, as in the reference to the River Leie, called the River of Gold, or the description of the North Sea, which, for James Ensor, took on the connotation of a sea of mother-of-pearl. Such a thread is essential as it serves as a structured guide for an excursion that promises to be fascinating and deeply rooted in art history.
Prominent figures animating this itinerary include Pieter Paul Rubens: the tour dedicated to him focuses on the city of Antwerp. Rubens is recognized not only as an extraordinary artistic talent but also as a complex and multifaceted figure. His life was distinguished by a multiplicity of roles that went far beyond painting: he was simultaneously a prolific artist, a sharp businessman, a rigorous scientist, a skilled diplomat, and a devoted family man. While he was a universally recognized genius, the documents outline a portrait of him that also includes the dimension of "ordinary man." Admiring Rubens-related works in the context of his hometown allows us to grasp the very essence for which those canvases were made.
Alongside the Antwerp genius emerges the figure of Antoon van Dyck, a master celebrated for his innate penchant for painting and his distinctive elegance and refinement. Van Dyck's talent was such that he was able to obtain his own personal atelier within Rubens' workshop as early as the age of sixteen, a fact that testifies to Rubens' own exceptional regard for him. And another Baroque protagonist, whose name resonates perhaps less frequently than those of Rubens or Van Dyck, is Theodoor van Loon. Nevertheless, this Baroque painter bequeathed to art history a series of masterpieces that are considered extraordinary.
The Masters itinerary takes in several locations, each with its own specific historical and artistic connotation. In Bruges, the tour offers the chance to appreciate the works of the Flemish Masters by admiring them precisely where they were created and intended. Similarly, the city of Ghent (Gent) offers a Tour of the Masters designed as an unforgettable journey through the different historical eras of Flanders. Mechelen enriches the offer, taking visitors among outstanding artistic masterpieces and, in addition, also offering culinary specialties that characterize the Flemish territory. Leuven (Leuven) stands out for its focus on sacred and religious heritage. This specific tour, inspired by the great masters of the past, leads to the discovery of authentic gems of religious heritage, scattered both in and around the city center.
The Masters Tour also offers routes related to specific natural environments that have influenced artistic inspiration. For example, the section titled "Masters along the Leie" explores the reasons that led Sint-Martens-Latem to become a pivotal and fundamental center for the development of movements such as Symbolism, Impressionism and Expressionism. Another itinerary focuses on the coast, the "Masters by the Sea" tour, as the lure of the waves held a fascination for such caliber artists as Ensor, Spilliaert, Delvaux, and Permeke. This maritime route invites you to stroll among museums, artists' residences and churches, all while enjoying the salubrious coastal air. Finally, the city of Kortrijk offers a fascinating blend of history and the contemporary. Here, you can find both Flemish masterpieces housed within medieval-era churches located in the beating heart of the historic center and examples of contemporary architecture, modern art, and innovative design.
Flemish art is declined in many forms, so much so that the Flemish Masters have been divided into several thematic categories that span the entire region. Despite the obvious diversity among these categories, they are all linked by a robust and consistent thread. The three series of masterpieces, distributed in different locations in Flanders, testify to the sublime quality of Flemish art, spanning a vast time span from the early Middle Ages to the 20th century. The first of these series is devoted to religious shrines. This particular collection is rooted in a millennia-old tradition of relic veneration, which has a two-thousand-year history.
Another key series is the Artist's Houses. What makes the initiative of the Flemish Masters in their places of origin so exceptional is the unique opportunity given to the visitor to admire the artworks directly in the same spaces where the artists conceived and created them. This in situ approach, that is, the opportunity to observe the works in the place for which they were conceived, is a distinctive element of the entire project. The tour is not just a review of artworks, but an immersion in the historical, spiritual and geographical context that shaped the Masters.
The organization of this project includes the provision of useful tools for the visitor, such as a detailed map of the places, as well as specific information about the works of art themselves. All of this contributes to a rich and coherent cultural experience, where the Flemish legacy is manifested in all its grandeur, from Van Dyck's elegant portraits to Ensor's and Permeke's seascape-inspired landscapes, while always maintaining a strong link between the artist, his or her work and the place that gave it life. The itinerary serves as a living testimony to the richness of Flemish painting, which, despite its stylistic and temporal diversification, from an era as remote as the early Middle Ages reaches all the way up to the artistic expressions of the 20th century, maintaining a unique and firm connective tissue.
