Musée d'Art Ancien

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    R de la Régence, Sablon
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Lonely Planet review

To view the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts chronologically, start with the Musée d'Art Ancien. Begin with the Flemish Primitives, including works by Rogier Van der Weyden, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling and Gerard David. Move onto Quinten Matsijs, whose paintings demonstrate a turning point in Flemish art as traditional realistic scenes were superseded by the more flamboyant Renaissance style imported from Italy.

The Breugel family, in particular Pieter Breugel the Elder, comes next. The mysterious Fall of Icarus is one of his most famous works, although De Volkstelling (The Census at Bethlehem, painted in 1566) is more typical of his distinctive peasant scenes. The Fall of the Rebel Angels (1562) is characteristic of his gruesome religious allegories.

The champion of the 17th and 18th centuries is Rubens. Portraits and small, engaging sketches (such as Studies of a Negro ' s Head ) contrast vividly with gigantic masterpieces, including the acclaimed Ascent to Calvary (c 1638). Jordaens, one of Rubens' contemporaries, is also well represented.