After two marriages with wealthy ladies from the Leuven elite and more than five centuries later, Dieric Bouts (ca. 1410-1475) may have found his true love: Eyeliz, the Mona Lisa of TABLOO. If that doesn't expand the horizons…
It surprises many that Dieric Bouts painted ‘The Last Supper’ (1464-1468) before the creator of the Mona Lisa and world famous Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci did (1495-1498).
That is why some exhibitors of TABLOO got inspired by the portrait of the late medieval urban painter or by one of his masterpieces that have been brought together in the hometown of this Flemish Master on the occasion of the Dieric Bouts Festival (from 22/09/2023 to 14/01/2024) and that still help determine today's visual culture.
The exhibitors are Geert Lesage from Kessel-Lo, Ria Vanden Eynde and Lieve Ophalvens from Heverlee, Femke Pues from Bertem, Christine Mallaerts from Werchter, Corina Karstenberg from Maastricht and caricature artist Marín from Murcia (Spain).
The result of their artistic work got rewarded with a vernissage and reception on the occasion of 10 years of TABLOO on the 7th of October 2023 and with a gift voucher for one of the seven exhibitors who collected the most votes from TABLOO customers, visitors and students during the exhibition. Christine Mallaerts' work elicited the most admiration: she painted the red cap from Bouts’ Portrait of a man (Jan van Winckele?).
During the festival period, workshop students of TABLOO also painted contemporary and personal interpretations of Bouts’ most iconic works such as Virgin and Child, Mater Dolorosa and Fall of the Damned. Their artworks are placed next to those of the exhibitors from mid-February 2024 until April 28 when the focus exhibition 'Atelier Bouts' also closes in Museum M in Leuven.
The participating students are Francine Clynhens, Diane Bruyninckx, Loes Anthonis, Hilde Gijssens, Karine Aert, Simona Ottaiano, Ramya Ravindranath and Celia Lobo Romero.