Brueghel & Van Balen, artists & accomplices

The retrospective organised by the Museum of Flanders (ill. 1) is, once again, a real success, all the more commendable given that it is a "small" museum. However, thanks to its scientific ambition and the richness of its exhibitions, it certainly plays in the big leagues, and any lover of Northern painting should make a trip to Cassel. There are many works by Jan Brueghel the Elder, a remarkable and well-known painter and son of the famous Pieter Bruegel [1] who made a name for himself, and discover the art of Hendrick van Balen, known to specialists but whose reputation has not yet reached a wider audience.

Although Brueghel frequently collaborated with Rubens and other painters, it was with Hendrick van Balen that he worked most, the latter specialising more in figures, while he himself painted landscapes, flowers and fruit.
This type of partnership was very common in Antwerp in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, although this did not mean that painters could only work in one field. Brueghel also painted entire pictures on his own, including figures, and van Balen could paint flowers and landscapes. But their collaboration allowed them to optimise the production of a painting, with each focusing on what he preferred. This type of work by two artists was also sought after by their patrons. As the catalogue points out, however, it was not always so common for two painters of equal renown to work together. This was certainly the case for Rubens and Brueghel, both considered among the greatest artists of their time, but the Brueghel-van Balen collaboration is not so different, as the latter enjoyed a very high reputation at the time, almost equivalent to that of Rubens, even if this seems difficult to believe today.