Flemish sculptors in Italy

In the autumn of 2026, M will, for the first time, highlight the artistic exchange between Italy and the Low Countries in the 16th century. Featuring masterpieces from renowned international museums, the exhibition tells the fascinating story of mutual influence, virtuoso craftsmanship, and a drive for innovation.

Sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints reveal how artists from the Low Countries, who worked in Italy, left their mark on the visual language of the Renaissance.

Pioneers in the Low Countries

In the early 16th century, pioneers such as Jan Gossaert, Pieter Coecke van Aelst and Cornelis Floris introduced the Italian Renaissance to Flanders. Gradually, Flemish sculptors left the Gothic style behind for good. In the exhibition, you will be introduced to Jacques Dubroecq, the Low Countries’ first true Renaissance sculptor. After his trip to Italy, this court artist of Mary of Hungary became the first to put into practice what he saw across the Alps. The work of transitional figures such as Jacques Jonghelinck also features prominently in the exhibition.

Egidio della Riviera (attributed to), Three Sleeping Putti © Galleria Borghese, photo: Luciano Romano

François Duquesnoy, Children’s Bacchanal with Goat, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam — François Duquesnoy, *Children’s Bacchanal with Goat*, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Acquired with support from the M. van Poecke Family/Rijksmuseum Fund and the J.W. Edwin Vom Rath Fund/Rijksmuseum Fund

Fiamminghi across the Alps

The Renaissance made its way to Flanders, but many Flemish artists also made their way to Italy. Giambologna (Jean [de] Boulogne) crossed the Alps never to return. He developed an innovative and influential oeuvre from his studio in Florence. His workshop became a magnet for talent from the North, including Pietro Francavilla, Johann Gregor van der Schardt and Adriaen De Vries. Around 1575, Flemish artists with Italian-sounding names, such as Egidio Della Riviera, Nicolo Pippi and Coppe Fiammingo, were equally influential in Rome.

Due to their unique blend of technical expertise and artistic ingenuity, the influence of these scultori fiamminghi [Flemish sculptors] swept across Europe, from the Scandinavian countries to the Spanish court.

The exhibition concludes with works by the Brussels family of sculptors, Duquesnoy, and the Utrecht-born brothers Robert and Andries De Nole. Their work demonstrates how the Counter-Reformation gave new impetus to religious sculpture at the end of the 16th century.

Giambologna, Ferdinando I de’ Medici © Bruno Cohen – Fondation Jacquemart-André – Institut de France, Domaine de Chaalis, Fontaine-Chaalis (MJAC-Sc 487)

Masterpieces

In the exhibition, 16th-century sculptures from M’s collection shine alongside other masterpieces from international museums, such as the Bargello and the Uffizi (Florence), the Louvre (Paris), the V&A (London), the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna), the Vatican collections, and works from various churches and private collections.