Van Dyck the European. The journey of a genius from Antwerp to Genoa and London

Van Dyck and Genoa, a deep connection

Anton Van Dyck (1599-1641), a pupil of Rubens and one of the greatest portraitists in art history, stayed in Genoa between 1621 and 1627, painting the aristocracy of the Superba and leaving an indelible mark on European portraiture. The exhibition Van Dyck the European, hosted at Palazzo Ducale, recounts this very connection, placing it within the artist's broader journey from Antwerp to London.

An exhibition of international scope

The exhibition brings together about 58 works by the master, organized into ten thematic sections that cover the stages of his career in Flanders, Italy, and England. It is the most extensive monograph on Van Dyck in the last twenty-five years, made possible by exceptional loans from 32 European museums, including the Louvre, the Prado, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi, the Pinacoteca di Brera, and the Royal Museums of Turin.

Portraiture as a mirror of power

Curated by Anna Orlando and Katlijne Van der Stighelen, the exhibition highlights Van Dyck's ability to transform portraiture into a tool for representing power and social status. This interpretation takes on particular significance in Genoa, as many of the families portrayed lived in the palaces that now form the UNESCO World Heritage Rolli system.

In the heart of the city

The exhibition is housed in the Doge's Apartment of Palazzo Ducale, in the heart of Genoa, in Liguria. Visiting the exhibition thus means admiring the masterpieces of the Flemish master in the very spaces where his Genoese fortune took shape.