In East Flanders, a major exhibition celebrates Margaret of Parma

In East Flanders, Oudenaarde, the birthplace of Margaret of Parma (1522-1586), is dedicating an exhibition entitled Margaret. The Emperor’s Daughter between Power and Image, which can be visited from September 21, 2024 to January 5, 2025 at the MOU Museum. The exhibition aims to uncover Margaret’s life, exploring her political and cultural role in the Netherlands and her deep connection with Italy.

Through a rich selection of works of art, drawings, tapestries, miniatures, precious artifacts and personal items, visitors will discover Margaret’s role as a key figure in European history: governor of the Netherlands at the beginning of the Eighty Years’ War, a famous personality in Italian society thanks to her control of several fiefdoms in the Peninsula and her ties with the Medici and Farnese families, but also a passionate patron and art lover. Prominent among the exhibits are the precious miniatures from theBrussels Album, a collection of thirteen miniatures on parchment preserved in Warsaw that recount the wedding celebrations of Margaret’s son, Alessandro Farnese.

For the first time in 500 years, Margaret of Parma’s most celebrated portraits will be brought together here, including the work from the British Royal Collection Trust, currently on display at Buckingham Palace, juxtaposed with works she commissioned from artists of the time, on loan from the Louvre in Paris, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the British Museum in London and the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

The exhibition is enhanced by contemporary interventions that reinterpret the figure of Margaret. Flemish photographer Lieve Blancquaert offers an installation dedicated to “Modern Daisies” in the Church of Our Lady of Pamele, while composer Floris De Rycker has created an exclusive soundtrack for the exhibition, mixing contemporary sounds with Renaissance music.

The MOU Museum, located in Oudenaarde’s Gothic town hall, houses one of the most important collections of tapestries for which Oudenaarde was the undisputed capital in the 16th century.

For all info: https://www.oudenaarde.be/en/mou

In East Flanders, a major exhibition celebrates Margaret of Parma

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.