Ghent, Belgium's oldest public museum turns 225, and the city celebrates with many initiatives

The celebrations in Ghent for the 225th anniversary of the founding of the Museum of Fine Arts - MSK are kicking off. There are many cultural initiatives that will enliven the city starting September 2, 2022 and throughout 2023, when the Friends of the Museum, which has always supported the museum and its initiatives as well as helped expand the collections with acquisitions and donations, will also turn 125. Exhibitions, evening activities, special theme weeks, conversations, sensory sessions and walks, and even workshops are planned to engage the public in numerous activities.

From Sept. 2, the Museum of Fine Arts - MSK Gent will deepen through numerous initiatives aspects of its history and consolidate its vibrant relationship with the city. Indeed, this is where the two interactive projects Past and Future in the Galleries and Taking the Collection Out, dedicated to the inhabitants of Ghent and its surroundings, are positioned.

On the other hand, from September 3 to November 27, 2022, the Albert Baertsoen exhibition will open, a never-before-seen exhibition that, for the first time in the last fifty years, will delve into the life and international relations of this painter, illustrator and graphic designer originally from Ghent.

The centerpiece of the celebrations will then be the first monographic exhibition of Theodoor Rombouts scheduled from January 22 to April 13, 2023, which will bring paintings by the Baroque master from around the world to the halls of the Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibition, accompanied by an in-depth catalog, will present the artist’s career, placing him among the most important Flemish Caravaggists and confirming him as a leading figure in genre painting.

Founded in 1798, the Gent Museum of Fine Arts is the oldest public museum in Belgium and one of the oldest in Europe. It holds a vast collection of more than 9,000 works ranging from the Middle Ages to the first half of the twentieth century with a focus on painting from the Southern Netherlands. Works by masters such as Hieronimus Bosch, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony van Dyck belong to the museum collections, alongside Impressionists, Surrealists, and Modernists such as James Ensor, Auguste Rodin, Emile Claus, and George Minne.

For info: www.mskgent.be

Photo by Milo Profi

Ghent, Belgium's oldest public museum turns 225, and the city celebrates with many initiatives

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