BRUSSELS.- On 14 June, the exhibition Bellezza e Bruttezza. The Ideal, the Real and the Caricatural in the Renaissance closed its doors at Bozar. Since opening on 20 February, no fewer than 102,466 visitors came to discover the exhibition. Of these, 18,405 attended a guided group tour, representing 18% of the total number of visitors. Interest remained high during the final weekend as well, with an additional 4,123 visitors coming to admire the exceptional Renaissance works.

A notable feature was the strong presence of young visitors. Outside of group tours, 6,520 people under the age of 26 visited the exhibition individually, underscoring its appeal to a new generation of art lovers.

With more than 102,000 visitors in less than four months, Bellezza e Bruttezza joins the ranks of the most successful exhibitions organized by Bozar in recent years. It is part of a select group of exhibitions that have surpassed the 100,000-visitor mark, alongside Keith Haring, David Hockney, Michaël Borremans, Histoire de ne pas rire. Surrealism in Belgium, Frida Kahlo, and Beyond Klimt.

Internationally as well, Bellezza e Bruttezza has not gone unnoticed. The New York Times included the exhibition in its selection of “European Exhibitions Worth Traveling For in 2026,” highlighting it as one of the most remarkable exhibitions of the year, stating: “It showcases works by powerful names in art history: da Vinci, Botticelli, Titian, Tintoretto, Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, and Quinten and Jan Massys.”





The French daily Le Monde also praised the exceptional quality of the selection:
“L’exposition Bellezza e Bruttezza, à Bruxelles, fait cohabiter des œuvres connues avec d’autres plus rares, d’autant plus intéressantes.”

“We are very pleased that Bellezza e Bruttezza resonated so strongly with so many visitors,” says Christophe Slagmuylder, CEO and Artistic Director of Bozar. “The exhibition offered a nuanced perspective on the Renaissance, reflecting the human and world view of the time. For Bozar, this historical exhibition also provided the impetus for a multidisciplinary programme exploring how (physical) beauty is experienced today.”

“We were especially delighted to see that the exhibition attracted a young audience, many of whom were discovering these remarkable works for the first time. The combination of beauty and ugliness made it a truly unique exhibition. And although the focus was entirely on the Renaissance, it remained highly relevant in relation to appearance and how society judges it. These themes are further explored in the parallel exhibition Picture Perfect. Beauty Through a Contemporary Lens, which runs until 16 August,” adds Zoë Gray, Director of Exhibitions at Bozar.

Bellezza e Bruttezza brought together more than 90 exceptional works by artists such as Botticelli, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Tintoretto, Cranach the Elder, and Quinten Massys, among many others. Thanks to loans from leading international museums, the exhibition offered a unique insight into evolving notions of beauty and ugliness during the Renaissance.

Following its successful run in Brussels, an adapted version of the exhibition will travel this summer to the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan, where it will be presented from 9 July to 18 October 2026.