Civic group portraits in Bruges : a contextual analysis (1650-1800)

Civic group portraits in Bruges 1585-1800.

A civic group portrait is a portrait of recognizable individuals who belong to a group that participates in the social life of their society. The group composition depicts members of crafts, militia, administrative bodies, charitable organizations or confraternities.

The seventeenth century is the heyday of the civic group portrait in the Northern Netherlands. Portraits of militia by Rembrandt and Hals are recognized as important contributions to the history of art. The corporate group portrait in the Southern Netherlands has received far less attention. Yet some 150 civic group portraits were produced in the Southern Netherlands, in particular in the historic Duchy of Brabant and in Bruges, between around 1500 and around 1800.      

The purpose of this doctoral project is an integrated evaluation of 28 corporate group portraits in Bruges between 1585 and 1800. Historic, typological, iconographic, socio-economical and social aspects will be studied using a contextual approach. The portraits from Bruges will be compared with group portraits produced elsewhere in the Southern Netherlands.