Bozar will open a new exhibition on 20 February, exploring Renaissance ideals of beauty and ugliness.
The exhibition, titled Bellezza e Bruttezza ('Beauty and ugliness' in Italian), examines changing concepts of beauty and ugliness during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Visitors will have the chance to admire works by Botticelli, Titian, Tintoretto, Cranach the Elder, and Massys, many of which have never been displayed in Belgium before.
Bozar highlights that this is a "unique occasion" to experience creations rarely seen in the country, with some pieces possibly exhibited here for the last time.
The exhibition also features works by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, two iconic figures of the Italian Renaissance.
Bozar explains that the showcase delves into how artists from Italy and Northern Europe depicted the extremes of beauty and ugliness, from idealised refinement to deliberate grotesquery.
While focusing on Renaissance ideals, the exhibition launches a year-long programme examining contemporary notions of beauty and ugliness.
In spring, the exhibition Picture Perfect will bring together 55 contemporary artists to explore modern perceptions of aesthetic contrasts.
The Palais des Beaux-Arts promises "a year full of striking contrasts and unexpected beauty."
