Ghent: The waterways and buildings

We began our exploration beside the River Lys, admiring the impressive sequence of former guild Houses stretching out along Graslei. The 6th building from the left below is known as The Spyker: it is the oldest house along Graslei. The Inghel is the tall building in the center of the group.
 

We passed this intriguing building ...

 

... and walked across St Michael's Bridge to enjoy a great view of the towers of Ghent.

 

 

After crossing the bridge we explored the former town hall ...

 

... and further along the Stadshal, a modern construction for events.

Opposite is this the sculpture of five kneeling figures by George Minne (1866-1941).  His idealized depictions of man's inner spiritual conflicts, include the "Kneeling Youth" sculpture series.  Minne made several versions of the figures in different materials.

Now into St Bavo's Cathedral.

The highlight is the famous Ghent Altarpiece

Additionally, the altarpiece by Peter Paul Rubens depicts the Conversion of Saint Bavo and is dated 1623–1624.

We found our way from the Cathedral to the largest open space in Ghent, the Vrijdagsmarkt. The statue in the centre of the square is of Jacob van Artevelde who ended the boycott of English wool imports during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France in the 14th century. The textile industry in Ghent was revived and Artevelde was hailed as a hero. Sadly,  he was murdered during a riot in 1345.

On the Vrijdagsmarkt in Ghent, you can find the Ons Huis and Bond Moyson buildings. They were built around 1898 in a so-called macaroni style, an eclectic set of all kinds of building styles and forms put together.

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.