Cities of Belgium Grant Allen's Historical Guides

Near the window by the entrance is a =**Triptych=, also by Memling, commissioned by Brother Jan Floreins of this Hospital. The _central panel_ represents the =Adoration of the M...

The =political history= of the country during this flourishing period of the Middle Ages has also stamped itself, though somewhat less deeply, on the character of the towns and...

Turn into the large square in front of you. The building which faces you at the end of the street as you advance (with a tower at the corner and high gables) is one of the best...

15. J. Prévost. Last Judgment. Below, the dead are rising, half naked, from the tomb, girt only with their shrouds; the good receiving garments from angels, and the bad hurried...

Now, pass behind the Choir, into the =Ambulatory=, beginning on the N., or left side. The _first recess_ has a fine mediæval tomb of Mathilde de Flandre. On your R., in the Choi...

The _upper wings_ represent on their first or lowest tier, the Annunciation, a frequent subject for such divided shutters. In the centre is the usual arcade, giving a glimpse of...

The burgher town which was thus engaged in trade and manufactures was Flemish in speech and feeling, and lay in the hollow by the river and the Grand’ Place. But =a lordly subur...

517. Roger van der Weyden: head of a Woman Weeping. Perhaps a portion of a large composition, or a study for one. More likely, a copy by a pupil. Much damaged.

The =Outer Boulevards= of Brussels, which ring round the original 14th century city, have now been converted into magnificent =promenades=, planted with trees, and supplied with...

On leaving the Cathedral, go round the south side, which affords an excellent view of the chapels built out from the apse. Then take the little Rue du St. Esprit as far as the C...

107. C. De Vos: *Portraits of the Snoek family, in devotion to St. Norbert. This picture requires a little explanation. St. Norbert was the Catholic antagonist of the heretic Ta...

217. Van Hemessen: _Genre_ piece, absurdly given the name of The Prodigal Son, by a sort of prescription, but really a Flemish tavern scene of the sort which afterwards appealed...

The =Zoological Garden=, just behind the Gare de l’Est, (admission 1 fr.) is well worth a visit if you are making a stay. It is particularly well stocked with birds and animals,...

Beyond these, another case, containing fine small works. A beautiful little *Madonna with the Fountain of Life (411) by Jan van Eyck, closely resembling a large one by Meister W...

_2nd Chapel._ Tomb of =John Moretus=, the son-in-law of Plantin, the famous printer (see after, under Musée Plantin-Moretus) erected by Martina Plantin, his widow, and with pict...

On the =right wall= there is a famous =*triptych= by Gerard David (the finest work here), representing the Deposition in the Tomb, with the Maries, St. John, Nicodemus, and an a...

=G r a n t A l l e n ’ s H i s t o r i c a l G u i d e s= Fcap. 8vo, green cloth, with rounded corners to slip in the pocket, price 3s. 6d. net each.

140. Beautiful Carlo Crivelli of *Our Lady and Child. This picture and the corresponding one opposite are parts of a large altar-piece, the main portion of which, a Pietà, is in...

We have next to consider the dynastic events by which the Low Countries passed under the rule of the =House of Hapsburg=. In 1477, Mary of Burgundy succeeded her father Charles...