Recently, the 9th edition of Het Kunstuur started in Mechelen. That this format, rolled out by brothers Joost and Hans Bourlon, is a successful formula is evident from the number of visitors. In just five years, it has already welcomed 300,000 visitors! In Roeselare, the 3rd edition is currently running.
Partnership
Mechelen received eleven works on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. They don't simply lend out their works. Since the inaugural edition in Mechelen in 2019, the KMSKB, a federal scientific institution, has been involved in the project. With KMSKB On Tour, in this ninth edition of Het Kunstuur, a partnership was chosen to present a carefully curated ensemble of 11 historically and artistically significant paintings that are kept in storage and are currently not accessible to museum visitors. This gives art lovers the opportunity to discover a number of masterworks from the collection 'late 19th and early 20th century' in Belgium in a new setting. There are masterworks to be seen from the Latem school, as well as works by Rik Wouters, James Ensor, Paul Delvaux, Théo Van Rysselberghe and Léon Spilliaert, three female artists also received prominent places: Jenny Montigny, Louise De Hem and Marie Antoinette Marcotte, as well as somewhat overlooked artists such as Georges Creten, Hippolyte Boulenger, Léon Frédéric, Joseph Stevens… For the first time also two foreigners: William Wyllie (an Englishman, but the theme is Belgian) and Marie Antoine Marcotte (a Frenchwoman who lived her entire life in Belgium and was a student of Emile Claus). The director of the KMSKB also emphasized the importance of this initiative. Many people still struggle with threshold anxiety when entering large museums and getting lost in halls between high columns. At Het KUNSTUUR, a piece of art history is compressed in a beautiful intimate setting. Intense yet manageable. Each painting reveals something of the time period and underlying emotion. This is further amplified by well-known Flemings who share what moves them in the work, what feeling they have about it, how it does or does not resonate with their lives. This time they include Eddy Merckx, Zuhal Demir, monk Giel, Jan Tytgat, Jean-Paul Van Bendeghem, Roger Housen, Jaak Pijpen, Vic Swerts, Björn Soenens, Hans Bourlon, Francisco Schuster, Walter Van Steenbrugge and Jo De Meyere with moving, instructive and surprising stories.
Refinement
The overall direction is in the hands of Frank Van Laecke. He adds new accents again, allowing a painting to reveal even more secrets. Immersive experience in mini-format. Together with the unique lighting and specially composed music by composer Dirk Brossé, that creates one hour of enchanting art in a historic location, the Holy Ghost Chapel directly across from the Sint-Romboutskathedraal in Mechelen.
