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It almost seemed a lily

by Berlinde De Bruyckere

Inspired by sixteenth-century Enclosed Gardens, these monumental wooden frames house fragile floral silhouettes. The work explores the dialogue between historical devotional artefacts and contemporary material stratification.

Accession 14532 ISBN 9789492677778 Publisher Hannibal Publishing
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Architecture Art Collections Culture Decorative Arts Gardening Handicrafts Plants Political Science Sculpture Social Sciences Utopias
CONNECTIONS
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State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-06-19 17:08
orientation
unknown
position_confidence
none
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
G:Lounge-S:8 1 Current
1 day, 1 hour ago
Vernon snapshot
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Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-06-19 20:42 (21 hours, 25 minutes ago)

Identity

name→ title
It almost seemed a lily
vernon_id
22897
accession_no→ accession_number
14532
vernon_slug
it-almost-seemed-a-lily-berlinde-de-bruyckere

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
On Shelf
location_name
Cabinet S8/Lounge/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA
location_reason
On Shelf
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9789492677778

Descriptive

production_date
2018
object_type
Portfolios (groups of works)/Visual works groupings/Object groupings/Object groupings and systems, Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication, Exhibition catalogues/Catalogues/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
Accessioned
brief_description
This book was published on the occasion of the exhibition, 'It almost seemed a lily' in Museum Hof van Busleyden (Mechelen). A collaboration between Studio Berlinde De Bruyckere and Museum Hof van Busleyden. Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s most recent work is inspired by the sixteenth-century artefacts known as the Enclosed Gardens. The Gardens are small wooden cabinets filled with a profusion of artefacts, ranging from handmade sculptures to flowers and animals in silk, and including wax medallions and fabric-wrapped bone relics. De Bruyckere senses a natural affinity between her work and these wonderful microcosms, which were part of the spiritual world of the sisters of the Hospital of Our Lady in Mechelen, who crafted them with the utmost care and devotion. With her series ‘It almost seemed a lily’, De Bruyckere enters into a dialogue with the seven Enclosed Gardens of Mechelen, which are now recognised as masterpieces. She has created monumental wooden frames that house the tender silhouette of a flower, the latter of which is composed of a multitude of materials that can conceal as much as they reveal. The imposing dimensions of the frames contrast with the fragility of their interiors. Just as the sumptuous Gardens stimulate the imagination and suggest a paradisiacal ‘garden’, the material stratification and interwoven contrasts in De Bruyckere’s works also evoke another time and space, a Utopia. --Publisher's website.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Berlinde De Bruyckere
tags→ tags
Art, Arts, Sculpture, Contemporary Art, Art, Modern -- 21st century, Political science, Social sciences, Civilisation, Decorative arts, Agriculture, Collectors and collecting, Decoration and ornament, Gardening, Interior decoration, Gardens, Utopias, Flowers in art, Wallpaper, Wall coverings, Cabinets of curiosities, Wunderkammern, Woodwork, Cabinetwork, Art, Belgian, Wallpaper in art
subject_people
Berlinde De Bruyckere (b.1964)
subject_objects
—

Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
26405

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Topics and Themes