Twombly, who died in July last year at the age of 83, made his name with large abstract paintings that have a free form and often reference writing, calligraphy and graffiti. Exhibitions of his work have been held worldwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and London’s Tate Modern. Twombly is considered by many to be one of the most important artists of his generation. His photography, which is the focus of the Brussels exhibition, is a less familiar aspect of his work.

Born in Lexington in the US state of Virginia, Twombly studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Art Students League in New York and Black Mountain College in North Carolina. In the mid 1950s he became associated with a group of New York artists that included Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. In 1957 he moved to Italy, where he remained for most of his life, albeit with frequent trips back to the US.

The works included in the Brussels show Cy Twombly: Photographs 1951-2010 capture aspects from all stages of the artist’s life. Several of the images are of his studios in Lexington and in Gaeta on the Italian coast, while another group is of a flea market in Lexington. Images of tulips were taken in Rome, lemons in Gaeta and leaves in Lexington. All the photographs are reworked Polaroids that have been enlarged to 43.1 x 27.9cm; the overall effect is grainy, out of focus and atmospheric.

The exhibition is based on a book of photographs that the artist helped put together and that was published by Germany’s Schirmer/ Mosel Verlag shortly before Twombly’s death. Having been shown at the Museum Brandhorst in Munich and the Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Siegen, this is the first time the collection has travelled outside Germany.

The Brussels version of the exhibition differs slightly from its German predecessors in that it also incorporates some of Twombly’s paintings, drawing and sculptures as well as including a film about the artist that gives visitors an insight into the life of the publicity-shy Twombly.

The film was made by the British artist Tacita Dean, whose work is also currently on display in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in London, and comprises rare footage from a day spent with Twombly in his Lexington studio towards the end of his life. Dean follows Twombly around as he studies artworks in his studio, looks through the blinds at the traffic in the city where he was born, and eats at a restaurant round the corner. The intimate nature of the portrait is hinted at in its title, Edwin Parker, Twombly’s official given names (Cy was a traditional nickname in his family). The film is on show about halfway round the exhibition and is definitely worth stopping to watch.

Until April 29, Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels, www.bozar.be