A gloomy eternity of hellish torment, poisoned apples, crazy little demons with menacing gestures next to seductively exposed female figures – is the image of sin in the long 16th century only evil and foolish throughout or does it also harbour a tempting side or even connectivity for our modern times?
Image above: Pieter van der Heyden after Pieter Bruegel I, Wellust / Luxuria, 1558 engraving, 226 x 295 mm Photo: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
With ‘Truly Evil: The Seven Deadly Sins in Paintings’, the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht presents a unique journey through the world of the seven deadly sins in 16th century art. The comprehensive exhibition offers a unique look at the moral and artistic depictions of COURAGE, WICKEDNESS, VIOLENCE, ENVY, WRATH, LUST and MERCY between 1480 and 1620 and places them in the context of our present day. At the centre is the question that has always preoccupied mankind: What is good and what is evil?
The exhibition focuses on the famous series of prints ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ by Pieter Bruegel the Elder from 1558. Thanks to valuable loans from the Netherlands and abroad, visitors are immersed in a time in which sin took shape in pictorial form and at the same time served as a mirror to admonish the moral concepts of the time. The exhibition is not only a historical reflection, but also an opportunity to reflect on the timeless nature of human temptations and inner conflicts, which are as effective then as they are today.
The depictions of the deadly sins were created in an uncertain, confusing and turbulent time – a time that is remarkably similar to our own. Bruegel’s era was characterised by extreme climatic conditions with very cold winters and harsh summers, epidemics and violent outbreaks of religious extremism. The exhibition explores these parallels and places the seven deadly sins in a contemporary context. During the audio tour, seven prominent Dutch speakers – including actor and author Ramsey Nasr and singer-songwriter Froukje – reflect on contemporary issues from the perspective of the 16th century. With this exhibition, the Bonnefantenmuseum challenges us to look at today’s world against the backdrop of the deadly sins of the 16th century. Which sins are committed most frequently in our day? Are there even new categories of sins? What human behaviour would we describe as a mortal sin today?
With paintings, prints, graphics, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, books and even stained glass windows, the exhibition focusses on the depiction of sins in the long 16th century in the Netherlands and contemporary Europe. The Bonnefantenmuseum places the renowned print series based on Bruegel’s ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ in context with its predecessors and sources of inspiration and presents works by contemporaries and successors that depict the same themes. This includes art that was accessible and affordable at the time thanks to newly emerging printing techniques as well as valuable collector’s items.
The exhibition ‘Truly Evil: The Seven Deadly Sins in Pictures’ was made possible by generous loans of over 80 works of art from more than 20 national and international collections. The lenders include the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Phoebus Foundation in Antwerp, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, the Louvre in Paris, the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen and the Breslau Foundation in New York. Thanks to these loans, the Bonnefantenmuseum presents a surprising variety of international masterpieces and previously unseen popular consumer art.
In collaboration with Waanders Publishers, a catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition with contributions by Saskia Cohen-Willner, Leen Huet, Jip van Reijen, Dorien Tamis and Wendelien van Welie-Vink. The book will be available in both Dutch and English.
WHERE?
Bonnefanten Museum
Avenue Ceramique 250
6221 KX Maastricht
Netherlands
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Saturday, 19. October 2024 – Monday, 12. January 2025
Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 5pm
