Dieric Bouts, Creator of Images

Transhistorical: this is the only word the organisers of this rich exhibition have on their lips to describe the event, promising a host of radical confrontations designed to "broaden horizons", among other elements of language about which one can only remain dubious. The stated aim is obvious: there are still a few people out there who believe, no doubt sincerely, that adding a few pop touches to a classical programme will bring new visitors to the museum. Let’s at least hope that the "resounding success" claimed by the Leuven museum website on its homepage, recommending that visitors buy their tickets online, will finally bear witness to a renewed interest among visitors in an ambitious exhibition of old masters paintings, even if the idea of such present counterpoints would clearly be considered ridiculous if it were a question of showing Vermeer or Rembrandt, who are capable of attracting crowds on the strength of their reputation alone. Let’s temper our annoyance: above all, we’ve come to admire beautiful paintings up close, and only Leuven could have orchestrated the exhibition.

Although it is difficult to describe Dieric - or Dirk - Bouts as a child of the city, as he was probably born in Haarlem, it is nevertheless in Leuven that we can discover two of his masterpieces, of which the Collegiate Church of St Peter is the setting: for the duration of the exhibition, these have temporarily left this church for the museum and it is thus with The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus with Saints Jerome and Bernard (ill. 1) that the first room of the tour opens, which is richly contextualised in order to present the artistic and cultural landscape of Leuven in the mid-15th century. It’s easy to overlook today’s…