Stradanus exhibition: a son of Bruges hailed back in his birth town

If having Honorary Tuscans were a practice in Florence in the early 17th century, Johannes Stradanus (Brugge, 1523- Florence 1605) would have been a serious candidate. He was born here, but died as a Florentine.

Today the draughtsman is celebrated in birth town Brugge (Bruges) with an exhibition: "Johannes Stradanus, hofkunstenaar van de Medici" (Court Artist of the Medici).

Stradanus received training as an artist at Antwerp, and he was found registered there as a member of its famous St Luke's Guild in 1545. Around that time he travelled to Italy to confront his own draughtsman skill with Italian art.

His encounter with a fellow countryman who had been put in charge of the de Medici tapestry production, which aimed at taking the wind out of the sails of Flemish tapestry making, proved decisive. A full career ensued: Stradanus became a commissioned designer for media as varied as tapestries, paintings, single pieces, altar pieces or murals -Francesco de Medici's Studiolo in Palazzo Vecchio for instance, prints, and of course the drawings.

But drawing for prints took center stage in Stradanus' output as of 1576, which explains why the core of the exhibition consists of 122 prints and drawings, placed together in a complementary way. There are borrowings from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Royal Library at Brussels and Windsor Castle. The richness of detail warrants that the spectator gives this enough viewing time.

Perhaps most famous, and documenting craftsmanship in the arts and science in the Late Renaissance, is the series "Nova Reperta" from 1588-1589, consisting of 19 prints. To depict themes such as the invention of oil paint, and the determination of longitude at sea, Stradanus consulted a fair amount of reading material, the literature of his day. But while glorifying discovery, it was not beneath him to color historical fact with his own glasses.

The exhibition also has sculpture, for instance by fellow émigré Giambologna, paintings by Italian artists such as Vasari, who counted on Stradanus as a close collaborator, and three Italian tapestries.

Details: Johannes Stradanus, hofkunstenaar van de Medici, exhibition, Groeningemuseum, Dijver 12, 8000 Brugge. From 9 October 2008 until 4 January 2009. The Groeningemuseum is part of the 1 Euro Museum initiative. Youngsters under the age of 26 pay an entrance fee of 1 Euro.

Photo credit: courtesy of Groeningemuseum. The Hunt for Wild Cats, borrowing from Palazzo Pitti, Florence, after a carton by Stradanus.

Catalogues:
Exhibition manual: Sandra Janssens, Stradanus 1523-1605. Hofkunstenaar van de Medici. No ISBN. Depot D/2008/0546/1. 63 p. Text, color illustrations. Price: 6 Euro.
Scientific study: Stradanus (1523-1605), Court Artist of de Medici. Contributors: Alessandra Baroni Vennucci, Alessandro Cecchi, Albert Elen, Sandra Janssens, Marjolein Leesberg, Lucia Meoni, Manfred Sellink, Gert Jan van der Sman. Brepols, 2008. ISBN 2-503-52996-7. Price: 60 Euro.