The Green Feather (Pieter Pourbus and the forgotten Masters)

Pieter Pourbus and the forgotten masters

deserve a feather in their cap too!

Activity book for primary schools and families

Read this before you start!

In this museum you will see paintings by such world-famous artists as Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling.

In the exhibition “Pieter Pourbus and the Forgotten Masters”, you are introduced to painters who are not very well known. Their names may have been forgotten, but their works of art are definitely worth a look!

We have selected a few paintings from the exhibition for you.

In this booklet you will find an explanation of these works of art and tasks that require you to search for, look at or do something.

Always keep one metre away from the works as you carry out the tasks!

Have fun!

Hey, you haven’t forgotten me, have you?

Oh yes, you will have just received a green feather from our parro... parakeet.

He escaped from a painting by Jan van Eyck. He thinks he knows everything better, but he means well!

Which painting in the exhibition do you think deserves this feather?

Have a good look round and choose the most beautiful, the funniest, or simply the best work of art!

Before you go, you can hang your green feather next to the work of art you chose on the board in the entrance hall!

Has your work of art already been given lots of feathers? Or are you its only admirer?

Pieter Pourbus

For their marriage, Jan and Jacquemyne had their portraits painted by the most sought-after portrait painter in the city: Pieter Pourbus.

What are the two angels in the corners holding?

They are coats of arms (= symbols by which people or families are identified).

They show that the subjects of the portraits are Jan and Jacquemyne.

Can you read what it says above the figures’ heads?

“Aetatis Sue” is Latin for “His/Her Age”.

Count what the age difference is between them.* Nowadays you can take a portrait photo in an instant.

But at that time there were no cameras or smartphones.

For a portrait, you had to sit or stand still for a very long time.

Can you do that too? Try it out together! Stand in a particular pose. Who will move first? * Jan is 29, Jacquemyne 19, so there’s an age difference of 10 years

Portraits of Jan van Eyewerve and Jacquemyne Buuck | 1551

Can you find this newly-married couple?

Can you see the dog next to Jacquemyne?

A dog was often included in a marriage portrait because it is a faithful animal.

What did Bruges look like in the 16th century?

Look through the window in this painting.

Behind Jan you can see a square near this museum.

Can you guess the name of this square?* A hint: the name includes the large object that stood on the square in Jan and Jacquemyne’s time.

Behind Jacquemyne you can see the De Haene house or the Cock’s House.

Can you see why this house has that name? it? They are mu keets in ch m y para ore beautiful!

Why aren’t there an

* Kraanplein = Crane Square

By the Seven Wonders, the artist means the seven most important buildings in Bruges.

Look for the painting this detail comes from.

In the middle you can see the Water Hall.

Ships sailed from the North Sea via the Reien – Bruges’ small canals – into the building where their goods were unloaded and stored.

The Seven Wonders of Bruges | ± 1550-1576

Pieter I Claeissens

The Water Hall used to be on the Market Place, but no longer exists. But if you walk past the Arentshof near this museum later you can still see a few remaining pillars.

Several of the buildings in the painting are still standing.

Can you find the following buildings in the painting?

Pff! That’s

Belfry and Halls

very easy! I recognise

dings from the air! the buil

Porter’s Lodge

Church of Our Lady

This map of Bruges from the same period as the painting (16th century) can be seen in the same room.

At that time, lots of merchants were moving from Bruges to Antwerp, which was more easily accessible from the sea.

Bruges city council asked Marcus Gerards to paint a map to advertise the city. On the map it looks as if Bruges is much closer to the sea and the waterways are very wide.

Imagine that you had to make an advertisement for the place where you live.

How would you picture the town or area?

Would you secretly make it look a little better than it really is?

You can look at Marcus Gerards’ map in detail on a multi-touch table in the last room of the exhibition.

St Luke painting the Madonna | 1545

Lancelot Blondeel

Look for the painting that includes this figure.

This is St Luke, the patron saint of painters.

He is in his studio painting a portrait of the Madonna: Mary and her baby Jesus.

Can you see that he is resting his hand on a mahl stick?

It’s a handy aid, isn’t it?

Do you see the boy in the background on the right? What is he doing?

He is an apprentice who is grinding paint smooth.

At that time you could not buy paint in a pot or tube, but had to make it yourself.

For oil paint, which was used for this painting, pigment was ground finely and mixed with oil.

The artist Lancelot Blondeel had a large studio with lots of pupils.

Pieter Pourbus worked there too for a time.

He even married Blondeel’s daughter!

The paint-grinder in this painting is not Pourbus.

He was allowed to do much more complex tasks in the studio.

What do you think of the striking edging of this painting?

What material do you think it’s made of?

Got you! This edging is also done with paint, but it certainly looks like real gold! In this way, Blondeel showed that he could paint extremely well.

Can you find the letters LAB just beneath St Luke and the Madonna?

What do you think they stand for?

That’s right! They are the first letters of the painter’s name: LAncelot Blondeel. This is a monogram.

This is how an artist put his signature on his work.

I know what

P = Pe mo n ose: P o ogra h c d l m I wou

rfect Parakeet!

Pieter I Claeissens

Moses trampling the Pharaoh’s Crown | 1560

Look for the painting with this child

This painting looks a little like a strip cartoon.

Paintings often show only one part of a story, but here you can see the whole story in a single work.

It’s about the life of Moses.

When he grows up he will free the Jewish people, who are being kept prisoner by the Egyptian pharaoh.

Can you find the following episodes from the story in the painting?

• The pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby Moses in a basket near the bank of the River Nile.

• The young Moses has broken the pharaoh’s crown. The pharaoh and his councillors want to punish him for this. The pharaoh’s daughter stops them.

• Moses has to prove that he did not break the crown deliberately. He is handed some glowing coals. He puts them in his mouth. This makes the pharaoh realise that Moses is actually only a child and did not break the crown deliberately.

• The Jews are fleeing and are being pursued by the Egyptians. Moses parts the sea so that the Jews can escape through it. When the pharaoh and his army arrive, he lets the sea close up again.

What colour is the sea in the painting?

That’s right, it’s red! It is the Red Sea after all!

And I suppose there ’s no

too! such thing as a green sea? Though that would be a fine sight

b

What might this person be saying or thinking about?

Use your imagination as a group to suggest what might appear in the word and thought bubbles.

V b V

Look for the painting this boy appears in

Wow, there’s plenty going on in this painting!

You can see a moment from the Last Supper, a story from the Bible.

The Last Supper | 1548

Pieter Pourbus

Jesus is sitting in the midst of his 12 apostles.

He has just told them that one of them, Judas, will betray him in exchange for a bag of coins.

Can you identify Judas?

He is walking towards an odd figure.

Try to describe this figure. Who does he look like?

This odd figure is ‘death’. Judas is walking straight into his arms.

Things will not end well for him!

All this action makes the scene look like a play. This is no coincidence, because this painting was done for the chamber of rhetoric in Bruges, a group of actors and poets.

On Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) they re-enacted stories from the Bible such as the Last Supper. One of the actors read the story out to the others. In this painting, this reader is the character on the left with his big hat and a sheet of paper in his hands.

I would be a fa arvellous actor! ntast se I’m a m ic m ic becau r o t e h r of ember of the chamber

Lots of people try to portray the Last Supper. Can you do it too?

Find a quiet place in the museum. Make a living painting yourselves. Act out the Last Supper.

You could also ask other visitors to join in. At a certain moment you all stay still and take a photo.

The Last Judgement + preliminary study | 1551

Pieter Pourbus

This painting depicts a story from the Bible: the Last Judgement, in which Jesus judges the dead.

Look for the painting where this man crawls out of the earth.

People who have led a good life are allowed to go to heaven.

But Jesus sends the sinners (bad people) to hell.

You can divide the painting into two parts: one side is heaven, the other is hell.

Can you see which side is heaven and which hell?

How can you tell?

Hurr ay, I

can’t see

rakeet in hell! en pa e r g e a singl

Which figure strikes you the most? Tell us why.

The work was painted for a law court in Bruges. Like Jesus in the Last Judgement, the judge punishes people who have done something wrong.

This drawing shown near the painting is the design for the painting.

The painter used this sort of sketch to show his client (the person who ordered the painting) how he wanted to do the painting.

The sketch and the painting are not exactly the same.

Can you find the differences?

Position yourself facing the drawing.

Which of these things is in the sketch?° And which are in the painting?* 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Jesus raising both his arms The angels who are lifting the good people up to heaven have no wings The naked woman at the bottom left, with her back to us, does not have her hair loose, but pinned up The angel with the sword at the top of the cloud is looking towards Jesus The man on the right of the cloud, next to Jesus, has a hood on The bearded man on the left of the cloud has some keys and is holding his arm out ,5

°2 ,6

,4

*1 ,3

Epitaph Portrait of Zeger van Male and his Family | 1578

At the top right we see Christ, who lived on in heaven after his death. Zeger hoped that he too would go to heaven after his death.

It’s not easy to include a family of 19 people in a single painting.

Pourbus set the figures in a landscape.

Zeger’s first wife is sitting next to him.

Next to her is his second wife.

They had a lot of children between them.

Can you count how many sons and daughters?* Where are the sons and the daughters standing?° There are no children behind the second wife.

She only had sons, no daughters.

*8 sons and 8 daughters - °the sons are kneeling next to and behind their father – the daughters behind their mother, Zeger’s first wife

Pieter Pourbus

Can you find the painting this man appears in

This is Zeger van Male.

He had a portrait of his family painted.

The painting was later hung above his grave.

We call this type of painting an epitaph portrait.

This was an unusual family portrait.

At that time, a family portrait was often presented on a triptych (a painting consisting of three panels) and the women and girls were usually on one side panel while the men and boys were on the other. One painting like this is the Moreel Triptych, which hangs in another room in the museum.

We are constantly taking family portraits with our camera or smartphone. How would you pose as a family?

Would you also stand in a neat line, or do something funnier?

Find a quiet place in the exhibition and take a family photo.

Plan of the Abbey of the Dunes in Koksijde | 1580

Pieter Pourbus

In the past there was no such thing as ‘Google Maps’. At that time, maps were made by artists and other people. Pieter Pourbus was a very good surveyor and cartographer (someone who makes maps). He made this map of the Abbey of the Dunes in Koksijde.

The monks who lived there were in constant fear of their abbey being flooded. They had to move and the abbey was demolished.

They hoped to rebuild the abbey at a later date.

Which is why this painting was done. You can see the abbey from above.

What can you see in the bottom right-hand corner?

These are the bricks, tiles and roof tiles the abbey was built with. They are shown on the map so that the monks could see what building materials they could use to rebuild the abbey.

Can you find this painted map?

Pourbus painted the abbey in a special way so that you could see the buildings from the front, from above and from the side, all at the same time.

From what angle do you like to view the world? Try it out!

• Squat down like a frog and look up at the painting. This is the worm’s-eye view.

• Imagine that you are a bird and can fly around in the room. Then you would be able to see everything from above, or in a bird’s-eye view.

I pr efe rt o

ok lo

at

th in

gs from a parakeet ’s-eye vi ew!

Pieter II Claeissens Mary Magdalen | 1602 Adriaen Isenbrant Mary Magdalen | Âą 1530

Look for the painting with this ointment pot.

These two paintings show Mary Magdalen.

Portrayals of her were in fashion in the 16th century.

Mary Magdalen played an important part in Jesus’ life. She stayed with him when he was crucified and anointed his feet with oil.

This is why she is shown with a pot of ointment.

She also has a prayer book with her.

You can recognise her by these objects.

Do you have objects that you always keep with you or which say something about what you like doing?

The two paintings are the same size and look almost exactly the same.

Yet one was painted 70 years after the other.

At that time it was quite normal to copy paintings.

People can make as many copie s of m

y y portrait as the

t way I’ll become wo ld famous! r like! Tha

Can you see what’s in the background of these two works?

A great many similar portraits of Mary Magdalen have been preserved, but a bed like this appears in hardly any other but this one.

In the bottom left-hand corner you can just about see a part of a string instrument.

Do you know which of these instruments it is? Have a good look at its neck! guitar

cello

lute

violin

Mars, surrounded by the Arts and Sciences, conquers Ignorance | 1605

Antonius Claeissens

Look for the painting that includes this figure.

This man is Mars. He was the Roman god of war.

You can tell this from his clothes and helmet.

Take a close look at the ears of the man Mars is standing on.

That’s odd! He has mule’s ears! This man is ‘as stupid as a mule’.

What we see is Mars conquering stupidity. The little angel is holding a laurel wreath above Mars’ head. Wreaths like this were given to victors.

In the background you can see the city of Bruges.

Maybe you are able to recognize some of its towers?

To the right of Mars you can see figures who represent the various arts.

To the left of Mars you can see figures who represent the various sciences.

They can be identified by the objects they have with them.

Can you find the following sciences and arts in the painting? Look at their objects.

• History has a book • Painting has a palette, mahl stick and brushes • Rhetoric has a parrot

And why not a parakeet? I ca n sp

• Medicine has a Rod of Asclepius • Music has a flute

• Geography has a globe and a pair of compasses • Poetry has a writing board • Astronomy has a celestial sphere What is your favourite science or art form?

eak ve

w! ou kno ry nicely too, y

Text and tasks

MOOSS vzw | Chris Ferket | Sarah Gallasz | Aline Van Nereaux Groeningemuseum | Tine Van Poucke Lay-out

MOOSS vzw | Chris Ferket Translation

Colophon

Gregory Ball Photos

Musea Brugge | © www.lukasweb.be - Art in Flanders vzw | photos: Dominique Provost Monasterium De Wijngaard, Bruges | photo: Hugo Maertens Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Rhode Island School of Design, Providence St-James’s Church, Bruges Private collections

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