“The Flemish Masters Museum Tour” picks up where the “Stay At Home Museum” left off

Launched earlier this year, the “Stay at Home Museum” virtual art tours were a worldwide success. Over 2.5 million viewers from almost 100 countries took part in virtual tours of works by Flemish Masters such as Rubens, Bruegel, and Van Eyck. Following on from the success of this series, the new “Flemish Masters Museum Tour” is launched and aims to inspire, enlighten, and inform in a similar way. The live tours commenced on 12 November 2020 and will be accessible online via VISITFLANDERS’ social media channels, thereafter.

The successful concept remains unchanged

The new “Flemish Masters Museum Tour” will offer viewers a personalised virtual visit, to several prominent Flemish museums and collections. During the tour, an expert from the museum will provide information and insight, zoom in on fascinating details, and tell incredible stories about the museum’s collection. The result is a series of online documentaries that are guaranteed to be a unique and educational experience.

The museum tours will be short, stand-alone documentaries lasting 10 to 15 minutes in total. Whilst the films will be narrated in Dutch, the commentaries will be accessible via English subtitles. The contents will provide the ideal tool to help guide and inform prospective museum visitors, when planning a future trip (when current travel restrictions are lifted).

The following museums will be featured in the latest launch:

Thursday 12th November: Museum Mayer Van Den Bergh in Antwerp.

The museum’s Director will recount the incredible story behind the masterpiece “Mad Meg” by Bruegel, which the museum originally purchased for the equivalent of 12 Euros.

***Now available on YouTube, see below for link

Thursday 19th November: St. Peter’s Church in Leuven.

At the centre of this tour is the “Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament” by another Flemish Master painter, Dirk Bouts which, in many ways, pushed the boundaries of fine art. Some art historians consider Bouts the first real landscape painter.

***Now available on YouTube, see below for link

Thursday 26th November: St. John’s Hospital in Bruges.

During a tour of the “Hans Memling in Contemporary Art” exhibition, digital art lovers can discover how Memling not only influenced the painters Dürer and Raphael, but also modern artists such as Joseph Kosuth, Kehinde Wiley and Aydin Aghdashloo.

Thursday 3rd December: KBR museum in Brussels.

According to some experts, the Flemish Primitives did their best work not on canvas but in manuscript miniatures. This episode shines a spotlight on the most beautiful specimens in the library of the Dukes of Burgundy.

Same time, same place

Each episode will be published at the same time and place, every Thursday at 6 P.M. GMT on the Flemish Masters Facebook page, the VISITFLANDERS YouTube channel and the Flemish Masters website. Episodes can be re-watched after the live show.

The new “Flemish Masters Museum Tour” is an initiative from VISITFLANDERS, the Flemish museums and the Flemish culture TV channel Canvas, in collaboration with FARO, the Flemish Institution for the Cultural Heritage Sector.

About VISITFLANDERS

This Flemish government agency is an official tourist organisation for Flanders. The organisation strives for the sustainable development and promotion of tourism to and in Flanders with a view to boosting the economic return, employment and well-being (for the inhabitants of Flanders). www.visitflanders.com