Flemish masterpiece by Jean Delcour on long-term loan at MSK Ghent

Insight into the creative process

The sculpture brings visitors close to the creative process of seventeenth-century baroque sculpture. Before its restoration in the spring of 2023, the bozzetto can be seen in the recently arranged exhibition room dedicated to the creative process (room 14 of MSK Ghent). Seventeenth-century oil sketches, engravings and drawings by, among others, Peter Paul Rubens and Gaspar de Crayer offer visitors insights into various stages of the development of artworks.

Place in the MSK Ghent collection

Delcour’s bozzetto is at once an important addition to the limited but valuable ensemble of baroque sculptures by, among others, Lucas Faydherbe (The Man of Sorrows, terracotta, inv. 1987-J) and Laurent Delvaux (St Livinus, marble, inv. 1886-B), sculptors who were also active in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation in the Southern Netherlands.

Jean Delcour (Hamoir, 1631 – Liège, 1707)

The baroque sculptor Jean Delcour, also called the ‘Liège Bernini’, was commissioned many times to create, among other things, rood screens, altars and pulpits for churches and monasteries. The sculptor’s fame and field of activity extended throughout the Southern Netherlands, resulting in prestigious assignments including the mausoleum of Bishop Eugenius Albertus d’Allamont in St Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent (1667–72) and the High Altar of the former Abbey Church in Herkenrode (1672–94).

More information

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