The Bad Shepherd, Christie’s Mayfair, 103 New Bond Street, London W1, until 16th January 2015

Pieter Brueghel II (Brussels 1564/5-1637/8 Antwerp) The Bad Shepherd
CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2014

What a great concept this enjoyable exhibition, spread over three floors, is. The Brueghel’s filled their works with scenes from everyday life and the natural world, often with a sense of humour and their appeal has lasted across the centuries. It is easy to understand why their work resonates with artists to this day.

Sarah Lucas (B. 1962) Drag-On
CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2014

As the co-curators Darren Leak and Jacob Uecker explain: “The works in the exhibition all have a strong narrative within, addressing universal themes that translate very well. With Brueghel it’s the odd, the crude and the grotesque that are important and have resonance with contemporary works and the contemporary viewer. There will be one work by every artist on each floor, so viewers will be walking into a conversation between images and the vibration between Brueghel, his contemporaries and artists of our age, time and time again.”

Neo Rauch (B. 1960) Alter
With
Marten van Cleve (Antwerp c. 1527-before 1581) A winter landscape with the Massacre of the Innocents
CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2014

The early artists are Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Marten Van Cleve and Abel Grimmer while their more contemporary counterparts are Peter Doig, Nicole Eisenman, Jeff Koons, Sarah Lucas, Neo Rauch, Thomas Schütte, and Jeff Wall. All intriguing in their own way and together!

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