Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Flemish paintings by Bruegel, Rubens, Van Dick, Van Eyck in the Louvre are worth the trip. The fabulous cycle of 24 Rubens paintings is one of the jewels of the Louvre. After the death of King Henri IV in 1610, his widow commissioned the Luxembourg Gardens and palace. She also commissioned for the palace a series of twenty-four monumental paintings executed by Flemish painter Paul Rubens between 1622 and 1625 and depicting the Queen's struggles and triumphs in life. These great Flemish paintings are now visible in the Galerie Médicis of the Louvre. Louvre Museum facts.
Acquired by the Kings and Queens of France, the collection of Flemish paintings of the Louvre Museum is first class in its new setting, including the Galerie de Médicis.
It complements the collections of French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and English paintings, turning Le Louvre into a spectacular museum of arts.
Bruegel, Rubens and Van Dick are among the most famous and best represented Flemish painters in the Louvre Museum. Locate the Flemish painting department on Louvre Museum map PDF.
The collection is worth your time. As the Louvre is huge, we recommend you a Louvre guided visit.
The Louvre Museum | Famous French paintings in the Louvre
Italian renaissance paintings | Louvre Dutch painters
This painting represents a village feast. The village feasts contributed to the fame of the Flemish School. These paintings often had a moral message, denouncing the human condition by showing all its excesses. Denouncing vices was not Rubens' main preoccupation.The picture was painted in 1635-38, during the artist's late period, when he was at the height of his glory. Rubens gives his painting rhythm with rapid touches of bright color that he makes no attempt to conceal. The picture was bought by Sun King in 1685. Its virtuoso technique and sense of color inspired many French painters.
The Louvre is open 9am to 6pm all days except Tuesdays, January 1st, May 1st, November 11th, December 25th. It is open until 9.45pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. Rooms begin closing 30 minutes before museum closing time.
Full-day Louvre Museum entrance fee: 15 euros. From October to March: access is free for all visitors on the first Sunday of each month. Buy Museum tickets (17 euros).
The Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, an oil painting by Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, dates back to 1435. It was commissioned by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy, whose votive portrait takes up the left side of the picture, for his parish church, Notre Dame-du Chastel in Autun, where it remained until the church was burnt down in 1793. It subsequently entered the Louvre collections. Nicolas Rolin was chancellor to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. On the painting, he is worshiping the Infant Jesus, who blesses him, holding a globe of the world as a sign of his power over Creation. The central role of Mary, mother of Christ, is emphasized by her royal crown, which is carried by angels.
