Luc Tuymans features approximately 75 key paintings from 1978 to the present and reunites works from important series as initially set out by the artist. Luc Tuymans (born 1958) is considered by many to be one of the most significant painters working today, and his distinctive visual style and approach to issues of history and memory have influenced an entire generation of younger artists. Interested in the aftereffects of some of the most traumatic events of the last and present century and their representation in the mass media, Tuymans uses a muted palette to create paintings.

Born and raised in Antwerp, where he continues to live and work, Tuymans draws on the historical traditions of Northern European painting as well as photography, cinema, and television. He appropriates images from a variety of sources and makes use of cropping, close-ups, framing, and sequencing to offer fresh perspectives on the medium of painting as well as larger cultural issues.

Perhaps best-known for his early work on the Holocaust, the artist has turned more recently to such topics as the postcolonial history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the dramatic turn of world events after 9/11, and the role of institutional religion in an increasingly secular world.

The exhibition includes 50 major artifacts excavated from the tomb of King Tut, including his royal diadem (the gold crown discovered on his head), as well as one of the gold and precious stone inlaid coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs. More than 70 objects from other royal graves of the 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C.-1305 B.C.) are on view as well.

A further highlight is the loaned collection of pieces from the intact tomb of Yuya and Tuyu, the parents-in-law of Amenophis III. This tomb was discovered some 20 years before that of Tutankhamun, and had until then been the most celebrated find in the Valley of the Kings.

The objects are accompanied by photos of Howard Carter taken in 1922 to illustrate the condition of the tomb during the first opening.