Trouwen bij Las Lanzas

As part of Breda’s Month of History, the exhibition Getting Married at Las Lanzas will be on view at Nieuwe Veste, featuring photographs of Breda couples on their wedding day. The exhibition opens on 11 October at 19:00, with an opening speech by Alderman Marike de Nobel.

Over the past few months, artists Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum have collected wedding photographs through an open call to Breda residents. Anyone who had captured the happiest day of their lives while posing in front of the imposing painting known as Las Lanzas, located in the hall of Breda City Hall, was invited to submit their photo. The result: dozens of submissions that together paint a diverse portrait of generations of weddings in Breda.

This call was part of the artistic project Las Lanzas by Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum. The artists have been researching the many copies of La rendición de Breda (The Surrender of Breda) by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, whose original hangs in the Prado Museum in Madrid. These copies—painted by various artists including Fernando Coll and Kees Maks—can be found in Breda City Hall, the Stedelijk Museum Breda, and the Castle of Breda, home of the Royal Military Academy. During their research, Jaio and Van Gorkum discovered the longstanding tradition of posing before these paintings during significant civic moments—particularly weddings. This everyday ritual, performed in front of a painting with such historical weight, became the starting point for their exploration of how personal and collective histories meet in unexpected ways.

Breda’s Month of History takes place in October and is part of the national Month of History programme. The Breda edition is organised by Stadsarchief Breda, Nieuwe Veste, and Stedelijk Museum Breda, and for this project, in collaboration with art platform Witte Rook.