TEL AVIV.- "All His Sons: The Brueghel Dynasty" exhibition - is a great international project presented first at Villa Olmo, Como, and now at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. It shows a pictorial history of the most important Flemish family of artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries – five generations working over the course of about 170 years.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Pieter Brueghel III, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Jan Brueghel the Younger, Ambrosius Brueghel, Jan-Pieter Brueghel, Abraham Brueghel, Philips Brueghel, Ferdinand Brueghel and Jan-Baptist Brueghel. Confused?

The Brueghels were a big family of gifted painters, active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels. In fact, members of the family were active in several countries and were closely related to several other Flemish artists' families.

The museum is delighted to have such an opportunity to expose the public for the first time - in both Como and Tel Aviv – to a vast collection and an extraordinary selection of 100 paintings and drawings, produced by various members of this family, including sons, grandsons and in-laws. These precious works of art come primarily from private collections all over the world, which is why one rarely has the opportunity to see them.

There were two main lines in the Flemish art of that period: The flamboyant Grand Baroque, as represented by Pieter Paul Rubens and Anton van Dyck, and the meticulous detailed style - represented mainly by the wonderful and gifted members of the Brueghel family - which is the subject of our exhibition. It might be worthwhile bearing in mind that these two parallel artistic attitudes and styles were not necessarily rivals, as has happened in art history (e.g.: Neoclassicism versus Romanticism, etc.). On the contrary – they collaborated with and complemented each other, as one can clearly see in various paintings from that period which were painted together by Pieter Paul Rubens and members of the Brueghel dynasty.

This project is the fruit of the generosity of private collectors, institutions and museums, and of the passionate work of friends and colleagues. The initial spark came from the enthusiastic collector of the Old Masters Joseph Guttmann, who has a particularly lively interest in the work of the Brueghels. Mr. Guttmann presented his idea to Prof. Klaus and Christa Nitze Ertz, the renowned scholars and experts on this dynasty.Among the writers in the exhibition-catalogue are: Prof. Klaus Ertz, Prof. Dr. Maximiliaan P.J. Martens - Professor and Chair of the History of Art Faculty of the University of Ghent, and Dr. Jan De Maere - Chair of the Belgian Chamber of Art Experts and undisputed connoisseur of Flemish art.

Curators: Dr. Doron J. Lurie and Dr. Sergio Gaddi