In London, an exhibition on Flemish art between the 16th and 17th centuries: the proposal of Caretto&Occhinegro

Running from June 29 to July 6, 2018, is the exhibition Nature | Symbol | Color. Inside Flemish Art, staged in London in the spaces of Rossi&Rossi (21 Georgian House, 10 Bury Street) by Turin-based Caretto&Occhinegro Gallery, whose specializations include a well-established tradition of Flemish, Dutch and German painting from the 15th to 17th centuries. The exhibition, organized as part of London Art Week in summer 2018, focuses on three key concepts (nature, symbol and color) to delve into Flemish painting of the 16th and 17th centuries: a conceptual and formal approach that, the presentation reads, “aims to guide the viewer within a timeless artistic journey, in which art is presented above all by values and not only by historical data.”

The itinerary makes use of the presence of fifteen works by some of the most important Flemish artists of the time, from Jan Brueghel the Younger to Jan van Kessel the Elder, from Jan Wouterz to Martin Ryckaert, and again David Teniers, Frans Francken, Jan Massys, Gillis Mostaert, Abraham Bosschaert, and Denis van Alsloot. It begins with the concept of nature: man is no longer at the center of the world, and the real conceptual revolution enacted at the time makes landscape an autonomous subject and nature a motif to be investigated with care and wonder. Flemish painting of the time is then characterized by the use of symbol “as a constant pictorial subtext”: symbols compose “a rarefied and sophisticated universe” to convey refined theological concepts or philosophical warnings “overshadowed in the simplicity of the objects narrated.” Finally, color is the unmistakable “trademark” of Flemish painters, synonymous with beauty, luxury and technical skill, declined in countless variations and iridescence, “like the reflection of a rainbow and functional to the most maniacal rendering of details and surfaces, capable of creating that vibration of forms that - alone - distinguishes the Flemish school from all others.” The exhibition aims to propose to the public “a new way of seeing ancient painting, under the banner of a contamination between research and beauty, between old masters and contemporary feeling.”

The Caretto&Occhinegro gallery, run by young experts Massimiliano Caretto and Francesco Occhinegro, is distinguished by the very high quality of its works and the periodic organization of exhibitions and events in Italy and abroad. The gallery has also always collaborated by lending works for public exhibitions or providing technical advice.

Pictured: Jan Brueghel II and Frans Wouters, The Three Graces with a Basket of Flowers oil on copper (ca. 1635; 47x34.7 cm)

In London, an exhibition on Flemish art between the 16th and 17th centuries: the proposal of Caretto&Occhinegro

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