The Jean van Caloen Foundation transfers the management of a collection of almost 2,000 drawings to Musea Brugge. Also included is a sketch by Michelangelo.
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The drawings and 25 sketchbooks date from the late 16th to the 20th century. They were collected by Baron Jean van Caloen (1884-1972) and were kept on the 19th-century castle domain that his grandfather had built in Loppem.
Van Caloen was an avid collector with a broad interest in art – his collection occupies an entire floor of the castle. The foundation that bears his name has now chosen to entrust the vulnerable drawings to Musea Brugge, because of ‘their expertise and experience with their preservation, management and exhibition’.
In addition to works by Italian and French masters, the Flemish, Dutch and Belgian schools are mainly represented. Highlight is Michelangelo’s Stoning of Saint Stephen. This preparatory sketch for a large composition is the only drawing by the Italian Renaissance giant to be preserved in Belgium.
Seven top works from the collection can be admired for a week in the Groeninge Museum in Bruges, including by Jacob Jordaens and François Boucher. The entire collection will be registered and digitized in the Print Room in the coming months. (gvds)
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