BRUGES.- For a number of generations Flemish art influenced artistic Europe in the fields of painting, sculpture and illuminated manuscripts to a degree that rivalled the innovations of the Italian Renaissance. The exhibition sheds light on this period with major loans from foreign museums.

In the fifteenth century the Flemish Primitives triggered an artistic revolution in Central Europe. Talented painters like Jan van Eyck with his brilliant eye for detail, introduced new painting styles and techniques. Their influence spread rapidly and inspired scores of artists, including the painter, draughtsman and etcher Albrecht Dürer.

Van Eyck and Dürer are two great masters from the period 1420-1530. A pioneering exhibition brings together first-rate works by them and some of their contemporaries, drawn from notable European and American collections. Paintings and other art forms will illustrate the interaction between the Flemish Primitives and art in Central Europe. The exhibition looks set to be one of the cultural experiences of 2010.

With masterpieces by Jan Baegert, Dieric Bouts, Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Robert Campin, Gerard David, Albrecht Dürer, Jost Haller, Hans Holbein the Elder, Johan Koerbecke, Stephan Lochner, Quentin Massys, Conrat Meit, Hans Memling, Joachim Patinir, Hans Pleydenwurff, Tilmann Riemenschneider, Martin Schongauer, Veit Stoss, Hugo van der Goes, Rogier van der Weyden, Jan van Eyck, Israhel van Meckenem, Michael Wolgemut

The Brugge Centraal city festival examines the relationship between Flanders and Central Europe. Flanders has a long tradition of interaction with the countries in that region, as Bruges' heritage testifies. Brugge Centraal offers a packed and varied programme of exhibitions, events, films, performing arts productions and concerts.

The programme is of course still in preparation but the two main pillars of Brugge Centraal are the art-historical exhibition 'Van Eyck to Dürer', and a contemporary art trail for which 'artist curator' Luc Tuymans is the inspiration and driving force. ‘Van Eyck to Dürer’ is a prestigious exhibition in the Groeninge Museum on the influence of the Flemish Primitives on the artists in the Holy Roman Empire.