Urban ceremonies, village weddings and kermesses, court and kings' parties: this exhibition explores the Flemish festivals of the 16th and 17th centuries through the prism of collective entertainment in public space.
Illustrating sometimes the party as a social ritual and as an outlet in times of epidemic or war, sometimes as a moral and political vector, the course, of exceptional wealth, brings together nearly 100 paintings, engravings, drawings and realia mainly from Belgian and French institutions, and other international museums.
First to list and treat all types of festivals, the exhibition takes visitors into a world whose traditions and values are still echoed in this region today.