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16/9/2005

Exceptional Women

LAMOT, Mechelen

Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria

At the turn of the medieval times and the Renaissance, the coming to power of two exemplary women.

In the completely renovated former brasserie Lamot, Exceptional Women brings together nearly 170 paintings and objects borrowed from museums from all over the world. Through a very original scenography by Zaha Hadid – the first woman to be awarded the famous Pritzker Architecture Prize- and beyond their artistic value, these objects become milestones of our collective memory.

A the turn of the Middle Ages
Malines, five hundred years ago. Two young widows, Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria, held dominant positions and played active roles in the political and cultural life in Europe. They lived at the turning point between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, between the Old World and New Worlds. Each one of them built bridges in time and space between various, often contradictory, concepts of the human being and the world, between different mentalities and realities. Their courts were breeding grounds where royal orphans were prepared for the “real life”. Young Charles, the future Emperor Charles the Fifth, grew up there under the guardianship of his aunt Margaret of Austria.

The Malines Court
Various artists – among them Pierre de la Rue, Conrad Meit, Jan Gossaert “Mabuse” and Bernard d'Orley – worked for the Court of Malines. Erasmus and Albrecht Dürer visited it. Music, the plastic arts and literature, religion and sciences all converged there miraculously. As proof of this we see a library rich in manuscripts and printed books, an impressive portrait gallery, superb tapestries, religious works, a “cabinet of curiosities” including corals and luxury objects from all over the world, the very first collection of exotic objects from far away Mexico recently conquered…

The two Margarets and Malines
Who really were these two Margarets? What made them tick ? How did they remain at the heart of this power struggle dominated by men? Were they capable of remaining women, and if necessary, of transforming their femininity into a strategic weapon in the interest of their succession and of lineage? How did they approach the image as women and that of their widowhood? How did they express feelings such as love, happiness and sorrow? What part was played by tradition, religion, knowledge and art in their lives? The exhibit strives to answer these many questions. This is a complex and surprising quest, in which the two Margarets and the city of Malines are the main actors.

PUBLICATIONS:
Exhibition catalogue, English and Dutch, 31x24cm, ill.368 p.: 45 €
Magazine of the exhibition, French and Dutch: 6,20 €

Image: From left to right: Portrait of Margaret of York Anonymous © Musée du Louvre, Paris
Young princess Margaret of Austria Anonymous, photo © Jochen Beye

INFORMATION:
Tourist office “De Gulden Arent”
Tel. +32 70 22 28 00
E-mail : inenuit@mechelen.be
Site : http://www.mechelen2005.be

CURATORSHIP:
Curator: Joris Capenberghs
Scientific coordination: Dagmar Eichberger
ScénographY: Zaha Hadid

PRESS CONTACTS:
Annik Altruy Attachée de presse annik.altruy@mechelen2005.be
Tel. +32 15 50 20 15

LAMOTâ„¢
Van Beethovenstraat 8-10
2800 Malines
HOURS:
Tuesday - Saturday 10 am to 6 pm,
Friday 10am - 9pm

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