Bruegel to Rembrandt – Compton Verney, UK

14 Mar — 28 Jun 2026

“When visiting this exhibition, it’s as if you’re peering over the shoulder of the artist as they contemplate the next steps of their sketch, such is the sense of immediacy in many of the works on display.”

About the Exhibition

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.

Bruegel to Rembrandt features work by:

Abraham Bloemaert, Peeter Baltens, Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem, Ferdinand Bol, Hans Bol, Paul Bril, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Matthijs Cock, Aelbert Cuyp, Cornelis De Vos, Maerten de Vos, Jan van Goyen, Jacques de Gheyn II, Simon Jacobsz. de Vlieger, Cornelis Dusart, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Frans Floris, Philips Galle the Elder, Hendrick Goltzius, Gerard van Groeningen, Jan Swart van Groningen, Pieter van der Heyden, Pieter I de Jode, Jacques Jordaens, Maria Sybilla Merian, Cornelis Metsys, Pieter Molijn, Jan Harmensz. Muller, Jacob Matham, Gilles Neyts, Willem Adriaensz. van Nieulandt II, Adriaen van Ostade, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob van Ruisdael, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Roelandt Savery, Abraham Storck, Pieter Stevens, Lodewijk Toeput, Esaias van de Velde, Adriaen Hendriksz Verboom, Sebastiaen Vrancx, Adriaen van der Werff, Jan Wildens