Antwerp: The Royal Museum of Fine Arts

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                                          The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp

The Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke which was active from the late 14th century to 1773 was succeeded by a new museum in 1817: it listed 127 items in its catalogue. The current museum was closed for major renovations at the end of 2011, reopening on 24 September 2022 after 11 years of work.

This is the large gallery that you first enter ...

Here are a small selection some of the best paintings .....  Caritas (Lucas Cranach the Elder) ...

 

 

....   Virgin and child surrounded by angels (Jean Fouquet c1454)

 

And a startling painting by Jean Fouquet: Madonna surrounded by seraphim and Cherubim. 

 

 

 Biddende Maria (Mary in Prayer or Virgin at prayer) (Quentin Matsys)

 

....  Passion Play by the 16th century painter, Gilles Mostaert

Countess Rattazzi by Emile August Corelus-Duran ...

... ending with Dali

... and ...

 

 

Ghent: Art nouveau

 

Our first encounter with Art Nouveau in Ghent was the building above facing St Michael's Church. We had just arrived and were on our way to find the Tourist Office (opposite the Castle). Fresh from the "Strolling around Lille" guide book, we followed "Strolling around Ghent" for our exploration of Ghent. We enjoyed the walks and buildings, but saw only a few Art Nouveau ones. Art Nouveau seems to be less prominent in Ghent than elsewhere in Belgium.

The wonderful https://art.nouveau.world/ghent website provides a much more comprehensive listing of Art Nouveau for Ghent.

We headed towards the Cathdral, on the corner at Biezekapelstraat 1to reach this imposing building ...

A similar Art Nouveau building is nearby in Sint-Baafsplein 21. Both were designed by the local architect, Jean Gys, in 1901.

Belfort-strasse 3-5, has a pair of tall identical houses, except that the one on the left has the engraving in its window: Van Artevelde. It is a bar and restaurant.

 The others we noticed, were interesting, but anonymous and possibly not Art Nouveau at all!

 

Ghent: The last almshouse

  

We were strolling along Kraanlei when we came upon the House of Alijn. It is located in the historic heart of Ghent, near the Vrijdagmarkt and the Gravensteen. It is the oldest, and only remaining, Almshouse in Ghent. It is now a museum. It was founded in 1363 as a peace offering to resolve a blood feud between the patrician Rijm and Alijn families. It was later a children's hospital

 

 

We entered the passage and emerged into a delightful square with 18 typical Flemish cottages (all interconnected) with different features on the four side, including a chapel.

 

We decided however not to take the guided tour of the interior.

For comparison, here is an almshouse with a very plain exterior from Delft: the Klaeuwshofje. It is on the bank of the Rijn-Schie canal.

We saw seen others in Amsterdam, but this was the first time we were able to see the courtyard garden which is a normal feature.

Ghent: Gravensteen (The castle of the Counts)

 

We enjoyed our walk around the Castle, but we found it difficult to work out how the various parts related to each other. It is much easier to understand from the photo above.

 Our first view, from outside was the moat with its innumerable small towers.

And this is the sight of people and trams in the area in front of the entrance to the Castle.

The Castle was built in 1180-1200 by Count Philip of Alsace. The cross in the upper part of the entrance celebrates Count Philip's return from the Crusades.

In the late 18th century, the Castle of the Counts was sold to private owners who later converted it into a factory complex. In 1807, the fortress in the heart of Ghent housed a cotton mill, and its outbuildings served as primitive dwellings for about fifty families of workers. When the mill and its workers left, the Castle of the Counts was in a state of complete disrepair, ready for demolition. Instead it was restored during the period 1893–1903.

Above is a close view of a different angle of the Donjon from the south.

We climbed the stairs inside the Donjon to reach the highest point which also gave us an idea of the number of towers there are to be seen in Ghent.

Descending to the very bottom we paused in the crypt.

Emerging, we went clockwise around the castle buildings to see them from a different angle .

 

The appearance is more romanesque.

 

This is the final angle in front of the Donjon.

Villa Cavrois: An Art Deco masterpiece

 

Paul Cavrois was a textile industrialist from northern France who owned modern factories for spinning, weaving and dyeing cotton and wool. In 1920 he decided to build a villa in the countryside for his growing family. When he encountered Robert Mallet-Stevens he soon decided that he had found a suitable architect for his house. It was to be a complete work of art, or Gesamtkunstwerk, inspired by the ideas of Richard Wagner. Unfortunately, Mallet-Stevens had other commitments which meant that work could not start until 1929. 

Mallet-Stevens designed the house to have yellow bricks on a concrete frame and two red brick walls. Each piece of furniture was designed by Mallet-Stevens for its specific use. He also designed the layout of the grounds with its lawns and water features.

When work did finally start, it was completed in 1932. But only eight years later the Villa was taken over by German troops. The family resumed their occupancy in 1947 and this continued until 1986. Thereafter, the new owners let it fall into decline and it was bought by the state in 2001. The villa opened again to the public in 2015.

The Villa is surrounded by a grassy park. You follow the curved path to reach the centrally positioned entrance. 

The high ceiling  and black and white floor tiles set the tone for servants' area of the house.

 

Next, there is the main dining room. It is a vast space. Most of what you see now is a
replica of the original room.

 

 

This is the children's dining room which overlooks the park.

 

 

The duplex sitting room

A corner of the Smoking Room

 

 

One of the many clocks. 

 

 

The rear view of the Villa with its stream and large grass areas.

 

Before restoration.

Lille: The Old Town

This walk route is quite lengthy and varied. A copy of Irene Reid's "Strolling Around Lille" book is essential to get the full picture. My photos are quite selective.

 

The walk starts in the Place de St Hubert near to Gare Lille Flanders and Rue les Canonniers.  On the left (above) is the Le Maison de Vieux Hommes It has some affinity with the almshouses we have in England. The Porte de Roubaix at right angles.

This is the view from the other side: rather more elaborate and colourful. The two plaques one of which commemorates the gate's construction in 1621 and the other its restoration in 1875.

We walked towards this rather strange structure, Deborence Island. It is named after an ancient forest in Switzerland and is entirely enclosed as an experimental site to see which plants settle there without any external intervention.

 

A bit further on there is a memorial to Louise de Bettignies, who is said to have run the largest spy network in the First World War. She was caught and sentenced to 15 years hard labour, dying just 3 years later.

 

The next milestone was also concerned with war. The Musee des Cannoniers was originally a convent, but in 1667 and again in 1792 the Cannoniers saw active service in defence of the town.

 

 

We continued onwards to reach the Place Louise de Bettignies and quickly discovered the house of Gilles de la Boe, a 17th century spice and cloth merchant. It is one of Lille's oldest houses.

Turning into Rue de la Monnaie we turned into Rue de la, the oldest street in the city, with its fine houses.

 

 

 

 

Further along the street we saw the remains of an ancient watermill.

 

The imposing Museum of the Hospice of the Countess of Flanders in rue de la Monnaie is next.

 

 

The next major landmark is the Cathedral of Notre Dame de la Treille.  Irene Reid suggests that visitors will either love it or hate its unusual design. I thought it was great. It was begun in 1854, but not completed until the 1990s. The facade of the Cathedral is quite unlike the nave and transepts of the rest of the building.  The Rose Window surrounded by the modernist facade is totally out of the ordinary. Sadly,  I couldn't find a better picture.              

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The rather contorted statue shows Achille Lienart who was Bishop of Lille from 1928 and then Cardinal from 1930 to 1968.  He died in 1973.

On the left side of the Cathedral there are a group of colourful  houses. The narrow houses have a gangway over what was once a canal. The charming figurehead above the window is very entertaining.

 

Two final images: 

 

The Sphinx above the door into  the Headquarters of the Freemasons in Rue Thiers. They are still a force in France .... and ...

A lovely balcony in Rue Esquermoise