Opening and press visit summer exhibitions The Private Papers & Exquisite Corpses

Rubens in Life and Death & Erwin Olaf's homage to Egmont

Gaasbeek Castle invites you to the opening and exclusive preview of our summer exhibitions on Friday 29 June at 3 p.m. at Gaasbeek Castle. We offer an afternoon tea and the opportunity to visit the exhibitions together with the director of the castle, Luc Vanackere.

RSVP to [email protected] by Monday 25 June 

In 'The Private Papers / Rubens in Life and Death' we place two major documents from our castle archive in the spotlight: Rubens’ marriage contract and his last will. Storytelling agency Shaved Monkey has created a multimedia show that brings both exceptional manuscripts to life. Details have been magnified, and provide a special audio-visual experience. The visitor will be given a unique insight into the personal life of the great Flemish master. In collaboration with the Rubenianum, Antwerp.

Dutch master photographer, Erwin Olaf (°1959) shot photos inspired by the painting 'The Last Tribute to the Counts of Egmont and Horne' (1851) by Louis Gallait, which portrays the deceased Count of Egmont (1522-1568), one of the most striking former castle residents. Gaasbeek Castle is resuming this exhibition specially for this vanitas year. These impressive photographs show Egmont’s entourage and the Brabant nobility paying him their last respects. Olaf has added some striking female figures, with a nod to Marchioness Arconati Visconti, the last owner of the castle.

https://www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be/en/events/84/exquisite-corpses-erwin-olafs-homage-to-egmont
https://www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be/en/events/85/the-private-papers-rubens-in-life-and-death

Joke Beyl

Press and communications officer, Gaasbeek Castle

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About Gaasbeek Castle

Gaasbeek Castle sits enthroned amidst the rolling hills of Pajottenland just outside Brussels. The medieval castle has had an eventful history, evolving from a strategic stronghold to a spacious country house. The Count of Egmond, was one of its best-known owners. The present building was given its romantic restyling at the end of the nineteenth century by the enigmatic French Marchioness Arconati Visconti. She was the daughter-in-law of aristocrats Giuseppe and Costanza Arconati Visconti, who, between 1821 and 1839, turned the castle into a unique meeting place for intellectual exchanges between exiled Italian politicians, European writers and scientists. Marie Arconati Visconti was also interested in the great intellectual debates of her time, as her correspondence with and support for Alfred Dreyfus testify. She set up the castle as a museum for her considerable art collection and treated it like a historical theatre set. The dream castle created then is still something of a time machine with its historic interiors, tapestries, paintings, furniture, sculptures and other valuable objects.

The castle park, with its centuries-old trees, ponds, lanes, winding paths and occasional historic buildings, is the ideal place for winding down. The estate also includes a unique museum garden where old varieties of fruit and vegetables are cultivated. 

Contact

Kasteelstraat 40 1750 Gaasbeek (Lennik)

+3225310130

[email protected]

www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be