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In June 2024, the two-year project Apprentice-Master II was launched. With the support of the Flemish Government and in collaboration with strong national and international partners, Musea Brugge continues exploring the history of the Bruges Academy during the long 19th century. We are conducting research into the international journeys of artists who studied at the academy and aim to engage everyone in this process—including you!
Apprentice-Master II builds on the registration project Apprentice-Master (2022-2023). Through this project, Musea Brugge made significant progress in registering and digitally making available the sub-collection of the Bruges Academy. As a result, 874 figure drawings by Academy students from the period 1757-1892 are now accessible to everyone via the online collection page. Apprentice-Master II builds on these achievements.
For many artists, the Bruges Academy proved to be a springboard for international training or careers. Students of great masters traveled to places like Paris and Rome—the artistic hotspots of the time—to perfect their craft. These artists, in turn, became masters who inspired their own students to venture abroad.
The artistic path of Joseph-Benoît Suvée (1743-1807) is a prime example of this phenomenon. This star of the Bruges neoclassical school made his career in Paris and Rome, becoming a shining example for his ambitious fellow citizens. Former students of the Academy gathered around him. For instance, Joseph Denis Odevaere (1775-1830) studied in Suvée’s Parisian studio and later spent time at the Académie de France à Rome, where Suvée was director.
With Apprentice-Master II, we aim to achieve significant milestones between 2024 and 2026.
First, we will conduct thorough research on the Bruges Academy and its students, focusing on the network formation of Bruges artists and on the comparison of academic teaching practices from an international perspective.
Second, we will organize public activities for various target groups to share the knowledge gained about the teaching practices of the Bruges Academy. These may include lectures or drawing lessons at our museum locations.
Third, we will continue the in-depth registration and digitization of the drawings in the sub-collection of the Bruges Academy. We will catalog around 350 academic studies created by students between 1892 and 1926, making these available for online consultation. We chose 1926 as the endpoint because it marks the end of Flori Van Acker’s (1858-1940) directorship. This allows us to form a complete picture of this period.
As part of Apprentice-Master II, we are organizing the two-day conference '(Re)searching connections' on 30 September and 1 October 2025 at the Academia Belgica in Rome. This conference provides a platform for researchers to share ideas and insights about the international networks of artists active between 1750 and 1914. Cities like Paris and Rome attracted not only Bruges citizens: artists from all over the world established valuable connections abroad. During the conference, we will examine this phenomenon and exchange thoughts with other experts.
Apprentice-Master II is supported by the Flemish Government and made possible through collaboration with the following partners: RKD-Netherlands Institute for Art History, Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA), Academia Belgica, Bruges Academy-DKO, Bruges City Archives, University of Antwerp, Ghent University and the Royal Library of Belgium.
