Bruegel to Rembrandt: Drawing Life, Sketching Wonder

14 Mar-28 Jun 2026

Overview

Explore the wonders of Dutch and Flemish drawing with over 60 works from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, many never before seen in the UK. 

This exhibition showcases artists across the 16th and 17th centuries, including Bruegel, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Jordaens, and reveals the magic of drawing as both an artistic tool and a means of storytelling. With charcoal, ink and chalk, these artists captured life in all its beauty, struggle and complexity during a period of extraordinary social, political and religious change. 

Look closely and you’ll see not just technical brilliance, but the imagination behind each stroke. Often combining elements from the real world, with imaginative details based in history or fantasy, these drawings offer fascinating artistic interpretations of a changing world. Highlights include Bruegel’s Prudence – a rare work from his celebrated Seven Virtues series. 

Complemented by loans of paintings, prints and drawings from other UK collections including the National Gallery, the Royal Collection Trust, the Ashmolean, Dulwich Picture Gallery and Sir John Soane’s Museum, this is an unmissable journey into the minds of the Old Masters.