The Birth of Capitalism. The Golden Age of Flanders

Today's world is the product of the Middle Ages. For it’s around 1200, in what is now called Flanders, that a new man starts to emerge. An enterprising man; practical and innovative. A critical man, who dares to question the status quo. A man who, thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit, becomes powerful and prosperous.

This enterprising man lives in the cities of the Low Countries. Thanks to trade and entrepreneurship, those communities become centres of economic power that support a flourishing art industry. Artistic products from Flanders and Brabant conquer the world market. Paintings, sculptures, tapestries, altar pieces, illuminated manuscripts… all passionately sought after and frantically exported. Art from the Low Countries becomes a quality label, an international standard.

The exhibition brings together a an exceptional selection of those masterpieces, and depicts the world of this enterprising man. With him you can relive the glorious heyday of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Explore a world of extraordinary fascination with ingenious discoveries, and tread the path of foolish sinfulness.