The Heritage Fund of the King Baudouin Foundation has recently acquired a portfolio of thirteen original drawings, and prints of the Flemish landscape painter Hans Bol (1534-1593). Bol is considered to be the successor of Peter Bruegel the Elder, stated the foundation in a statement on Wednesday. This acquisition will be lent to the Print Room of the Royal Library of Belgium.
The thirteen designs, which symbolize the months of the year through scenes of the seasons taken from everyday life, were created by the artist in pen and brown ink. The engraving, meanwhile, was made by Hans Collaert (1560-1618) and the book printed in 1585 was written by Jan Sadeler in Antwerp.
The portfolio bound in Moroccan leather with engraved prints from the series "Emblemata evangelica ad XII signed codestica" were acquired at a sale at Christie's in London. They belonged to the estate of George Spencer Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough.
Hans Bol was born in Mechelen and spent most of his career in painting, drawing, miniatures, etching and graphic design. A year before the fall of Antwerp in 1585, he settled in the Netherlands. His works are now in the collections of many museums, including the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, the Louvre, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
The work acquired by the King Baudouin Foundation will be scanned and submitted online on the websites of the Royal Library of Belgium and the Heritage Fund. In autumn 2015, an exhibition will be organized in order to promote the portfolio.
(Source: Belga)
