Chapter C: O N T E N T S (2)

_1st panel_, on the left: St. Ursula and her maidens, in the rich dress of the Burgundian court of the 15th century, arrive at Cologne, the buildings of which are seen in the background, correctly represented, but not in their true relations. In a window in the background to the R., the angel appears to St. Ursula in a vision.

_2nd panel_: the Virgins arrive at Basle and disembark from the ships. In the background, they are seen preparing to make their way, one by one, across the Alps, which rise from low hills at the base to snowy mountains. From another ship Conon and his knights are disembarking.

**_3rd panel_: (the most beautiful:) the Maidens arrive at Rome. In the distance they are seen entering the city through a triumphal arch; in the foreground, St. Ursula kneels before St. Cyriacus and his bishops, with their attendant deacons, all the faces having the character of portraits. (Note especially the fat and jolly ecclesiastic just under the arch.) At the same time, her betrothed, Conon, with his knights, arrives at Rome by a different road, and is seen kneeling in a red robe trimmed with rich fur beside St. Ursula. (Fine portrait faces of Conon and an old courtier behind him.) The Pope and his priests are gathered under the portals of a beautiful round-arched building, whose exquisite architecture should be closely examined. To the extreme R., the new converts and Conon receive baptism naked in fonts after the early fashion. In the background of this scene, St. Ursula receives the Sacrament. (She may be recognised throughout by her peculiar blue-and-white dress, with its open sleeves.) To the left of her, Conon makes confession. In this, as in the other scenes, several successive moments of the same episode are contemporaneously represented. Look long at it.

Now, =turn round= the shrine, which swings freely on a pivot, to see the scenes of the return journey.

_1st panel_: (beginning again at the left:) the Pope and his bishops and cardinals embark with St. Ursula in the boat at Basle on their way to Cologne. Three episodes are here conjoined: the Pope cautiously stepping into a ship; the Pope seated; the ship sailing down the Rhine. All the faces here, and especially the timid old Pope stepping into the boat, deserve careful examination. In the background, the return over the Alps.

_*2nd panel_: the Maidens and the Pope arrive at Cologne, where they are instantly set upon by the armed Huns. Conon is slain by the thrust of a sword, and falls back dying in the arms of St. Ursula. Many of the maidens are also slaughtered.

_*3rd panel_: continuous with the last, but representing a subsequent moment: the Martyrdom of St. Ursula. The King of the Huns, in full armour, at the door of his tent, bends his bow to shoot the blessed martyr, who has refused his advances. Around are grouped his knights in admirably painted armour. (Note the reflections.) All the scenes have the character of a mediæval romance. For their open-air tone and make-believe martyrdom, see Conway.

At the =ends= of the shrine are two other pictures, (1) *St. Ursula with her arrow, as the protectress of young girls, sheltering a number of them under her cloak (not, as is commonly said, the 11,000 Virgins). Similar protecting figures of the saint are common elsewhere (Cluny, Bologna, etc.). At the opposite end, (2) the Madonna and Child with an apple, and at her feet two Augustinian nuns of this Hospital, kneeling, to represent the devotion of the order.

The =roof= of the shrine is also decorated with pictures. (1) St. Ursula receiving the crown of martyrdom from God the Father, with the Son and the Holy Ghost; at the sides, two angels playing the mandoline and the regal or portable organ; (2) St. Ursula in Paradise, bearing her arrow, and surrounded by her maidens, who shared her martyrdom, together with the Pope and other ecclesiastics in the background. (This picture is largely borrowed from the famous one by Stephan Lochner on the High Altar of Cologne Cathedral, known as the _Dombild_. If you are going on to Cologne, buy a photograph of this now, to compare with Meister Stephan later. His altar-piece is engraved in Conway. If you have it with you, compare them.) At the sides are two angels playing the zither and the violin. (The angels are possibly by a pupil.)

I have given a brief description only of these pictures, but every one of them ought to be carefully examined, and the character of the figures and of the landscape or architectural background noted. You will see nothing lovelier in all Flanders.

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 Magi=, which takes place, as usual, under a ruined temple fitted up as a manger. The Eldest of the Three Kings (according to precedent) is kneeling and has presented his gift; Joseph, recognisable (in all three panels) by his red-and-black robe, stands erect behind him, with the presented gift in his hands. The Middle-aged King, arrayed in cloth of gold, with a white tippet, kneels with his gift to the L. of the picture. The Young King, a black man, as always, is entering with his gift to the right. The three thus typify the Three Ages of Man, and also the three known continents, Europe, Asia, Africa. On the L. side of this central panel are figured the donor, Jan Floreins, and his brother Jacob. (Members of the same family are grouped in the well-known “Duchâtel Madonna,” also by Memling, in the Louvre.) To the right is a figure looking in at a window and wearing the yellow cap still used by convalescents of the Hospital, (arbitrarily said to be a portrait of Memling.) The _left panel_ represents the Nativity, with our Lady, St. Joseph, and two adoring angels. The _right panel_ shows the Presentation in the Temple, with Simeon and Anna, and St. Joseph (in red and black) in the background. (The whole thus typifies the Epiphany of Christ; left, to the Blessed Virgin; centre, to the Gentiles; right, to the Jews.) The _outer panels_, in pursuance of the same idea, have figures, right, of St. John Baptist with the lamb (he pointed out Christ to the Jews), with the Baptism of Christ in the background; and left, St. Veronica, who preserved for us the features of our Lord, displaying his divine face on her napkin. The architectural frame shows the First Sin and the Expulsion from Paradise. Note everywhere the strong character in the men’s faces, and the exquisite landscape or architectural backgrounds. Dated 1479. This is Memling’s finest altar-piece: its glow of colour is glorious.

By the centre window, a =*triptych=, doubtfully attributed to Memling, represents, in the centre, =the Deposition from the Cross=, with the Holy Blood conspicuous, as might be expected in a Bruges work. In the foreground are St. John, the Madonna, and St. Mary Magdalene; in the background, the preparations for the Deposition in the Tomb. On the =wings=: _left_, Brother Adrian Reins, the donor, with his patron saint, Adrian, bearing his symbol, the anvil, on which his limbs were struck off, and with his lion at his feet; _right_, St. Barbara with her tower, perhaps as patroness of armourers. On the =exterior wings=, _left_, St. Wilgefortis with her tau-shaped cross; _right_, St. Mary of Egypt, with the three loaves which sustained her in the desert.

On the same stand is the beautiful =*diptych= by Memling, representing =Martin van Nieuwenhoven= adoring the Madonna. The _left_ panel represents Our Lady and the Child, with an apple, poised on a beautifully painted cushion. A convex mirror in the background reflects the backs of the figures (as in the Van Eyck of the National Gallery). Through the open window is seen a charming distant prospect. The _right_ panel has the fine portrait of the donor, in a velvet dress painted with extreme realism. Note the admirable prayer-book and joined hands. At his back, a stained glass window shows his patron, St. Martin, dividing his cloak for the beggar. Below, a lovely glimpse of landscape. This is probably Memling’s most successful portrait. Dated 1487: brought here from the _Hospice_ of St. Julian, of which Martin was Master.

In all Flemish art, observe now the =wooden face of the Madonna=—ultimately derived, I believe, from imitation of painted wooden figures, and then hardened into a type. As a rule, the Madonna is the least interesting part of all Flemish painting; and after her, the women, especially the young ones. The men’s faces are best, and better when old: character, not beauty, is what the painter cares for. This is most noticeable in Van Eyck, but is true in part even of Memling.

At the end of the room is the magnificent =*triptych= painted by Memling for the =High Altar= of the Church of this Hospital. This is the largest of his works, and it is dedicated to the honour of the two saints (John the Evangelist and John the Baptist) who are patrons of the Hospital. The =central panel= represents Our Lady, seated in an exquisite cloister, on a throne backed with cloth of gold. To the right and left are two exquisite angels, one of whom plays a regal, while the other, in a delicious pale blue robe, holds a book for Our Lady. Two smaller angels, poised in air, support her crown. To the left, St. Catherine of Alexandria kneels as princess, with the broken wheel and the sword of her martyrdom at her feet. The Child Christ places a ring on her finger; whence the whole composition is often absurdly called “The Marriage of St. Catherine.” It should be styled “The Altar-piece of the St. Johns.” To the right is St. Barbara, calmly reading, with her tower behind her. When these two saints are thus combined, they represent the meditative and the active life (as St. Barbara was the patroness of arms:) or, more definitely, the clergy and the knighthood. Hence their appropriateness to an institution, half monastic, half secular. In the background stand the two patron saints; St. John Baptist with the lamb (Memling’s personal patron), to the left, and St. John the Evangelist with the cup and serpent, to the right. (For these symbols, see Mrs. Jameson.) Behind the Baptist are scenes from his life and preaching. He is led to prison, and his body is burned by order of Julian the Apostate. Behind the Evangelist, he is seen in the cauldron of boiling oil. The small figure in black to the right is the chief donor, Brother Jan Floreins, who is seen further back in his secular capacity as public gauger of wine, near a great crane, which affords a fine picture of mercantile life in old Bruges. The _left wing_ represents the life of St. John the Baptist. In the distance is seen the Baptism of Christ. In a room to the left, the daughter of Herodias dances before Herod. The foreground is occupied by the episode of the Decollation, treated in a courtly manner, very redolent of the Burgundian splendour. Figures and attitudes are charming: only, the martyrdom sinks into insignificance beside the princess’s collar. Other minor episodes may be discovered by inspection. (The episodes on either wing overflow into the main pictures.) The _right wing_ shows St. John the Evangelist in Patmos, writing the Apocalypse, various scenes from which are realistically and too solidly represented above him, without poetical insight. Memling here attempts to transcend his powers. He has no sublimity. On the _exterior of the wings_ are seen the four other members of the society who were donors of the altar-piece; Anthony Zeghers, master of the Hospital, with his patron, St. Anthony, known by his pig and tau-shaped crutch and bell: Jacob de Cueninc, treasurer, accompanied by his patron, St. James the Greater, with his pilgrim’s staff and scallop-shell: Agnes Casembrood, mistress of the Hospital, with her patron, St. Agnes, known by her lamb: and Claire van Hulsen, a sister, with her patron, St. Clara. Dated, 1479.

By the entrance door is a =Portrait of Marie Moreel=, represented as a Sibyl. She was a daughter of Willem Moreel or Morelli, a patron of Memling, whom we shall meet again at the Museum. This is a fine portrait of a solid, plain body, a good deal spoiled by attempted cleaning. It comes from the _Hospice_ of St. Julian.

As you go out, cast a glance at the fine old brick buildings, and note the cleanliness of all the arrangements.

Return more than once: do not be satisfied with a single visit.

The other pictures and objects formerly exhibited in this Hospital have been transferred to the Potterie and another building. They need only be visited by those whose time is ample.

After leaving the Hospital, I do not advise an immediate visit to the Academy. Let the Memlings first sink into your mind. But the walk may be prolonged by crossing the canal, and taking the second turning to the R., which leads (over a pretty bridge of three arches) to the =Béguinage=, a lay-nunnery for ladies who take no vows, but who live in monastic fashion under the charge of a Superior. Above the gateway is a figure of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, (to whom the church within is dedicated) giving alms to a beggar. She wears her crown, and carries in her hand the crown and book which are her symbol. Remember these,—they will recur later. Pass under the gateway and into the grass-grown precincts for an external glimpse of the quiet old-world close, with its calm white-washed houses. The church, dedicated to St. Elizabeth, is uninteresting. This walk may be further prolonged by the pretty bank of the _Lac d’amour_ or _Minnewater_ as far as the external canal, returning by the ramparts and the picturesque =Porte de Gand=.

_D._ THE TOWN IN GENERAL.

[The =town of Bruges itself= is more interesting, after all,
than almost any one thing in it. Vary your day by giving up the
morning to definite sight-seeing, and devoting the afternoon to
=strolls= through the town and neighbourhood, in search of
picturesqueness. I subjoin a few stray hints for such casual
rambles.]

(1) Set out from the Grand’ Place, and turn down the Rue Breydel to the Place du Bourg. Cross the Place by the statue of Jan van Eyck; traverse the Rue Philippe Stock; turn up the Rue des Armuriers a little to the R., and continue on to the Place St. Jean, with a few interesting houses. Note here and elsewhere, at every turn, the little statues of the Virgin and Child in niches, and the old signs on the fronts or gables. The interesting =Gothic turret= which faces you as you go belongs to the old 14th Century building called =De Poorters Loodge=, or the Assembly Hall of the Noble Citizens Within the Gate, as opposed to those of the =Franc de Bruges=. Continue on in the same direction to the Place Jan van Eyck, where you open up one of the most charming views in Bruges over the canal and quays. The Place is “adorned” by a modern statue of Jan van Eyck. The dilapidated building to your L. is that of the =Académie des Beaux-Arts= which occupies the site of the Citizens’ Assembly Hall: the ancient edifice was wholly rebuilt and spoilt in 1755, with the exception of the picturesque tower, best viewed from the base of the statue. Opposite you, as you emerge into the Place, is the charming =Tonlieu= or Custom House, whose decorated _façade_ and portal (restored) bear the date 1477, with the arms of Pieter van Luxemburg, and the collar of the Golden Fleece. The dainty little neighbouring house to the L., now practically united with it, has a coquettish _façade_: the saints in the niches are St. George, St. John Baptist, St. Thomas à Becket, (or Augustine?) and St. John the Evangelist.

The Tonlieu is now fitted up as the Municipal Library. (Open daily, free, 10 to 1, and 3 to 5, Saturday and Sunday excepted.) It contains illuminated manuscripts and examples of editions printed by Colard Mansion. All round the Place are other picturesque mediæval or Renaissance houses.

The little street to the R. (diagonally) of the Tonlieu leads on to the Marché du Mercedi, now called Place de Memling, embellished by a statue of the great painter. Cross the Place diagonally to the Quai des Espagnoles (Madonna and Child in front of you) and continue along the quay, to the L., to the first bridge; there cross and go along the picturesque Quai des Augustins to the Rue Flamande. (Quaint little window to the left, as you cross the bridge.) Follow the Rue Flamande as far as the Theatre, just before reaching which you pass, right, a handsome mediæval stone mansion, (formerly the Guild of the Genoese Merchants,) with a relief over the door, representing St. George killing the Dragon, and the Princess Cleodolind looking on. At the Theatre, turn to the R., following the tram-line, and making your way back to the Grand’ Place by the Rue des Tonneliers.

(2) As early as 1362, Bruges acquired its existing size, and was surrounded by =ramparts=, which still in part remain. A continuous canal runs round these ramparts, and beyond it again lies an outer moat. Most of the =old gates= have unhappily been destroyed, but four still exist. These may be made the objects of interesting rambles.

Go from your hotel, or from the Grand’ Place, by the Rue Flamande, as far as the Rue de l’Académie. Turn along this to the R., into the Place Jan van Eyck, noting as you pass the Bear of Bruges at the corner of the building of the old Academy. Follow the quay straight on till you reach a second canal, near the corner of which, by the Rue des Carmes, is an interesting shop with good beaten brasswork. Take the long squalid Rue des Carmes to the right, past the ugly convent of the English Ladies, with its domed church in the most painful taste of the later Renaissance (1736). The mediæval brick building on your right, at the end of the street, is the late Gothic =Guild-house of the Archers of St. Sebastian=. Its slender octagonal tower has a certain picturesqueness. (St. Sebastian was of course the patron of archery.) Charles II. of England (see under the Grand’ Place) was a member of this society during his exile: his bust is preserved here. So also was the Emperor Maximilian. Continue to the =ramparts=, and mount the first hill, crowned by a windmill,—a scene of a type familiar to us in many later Dutch and Flemish pictures. A picturesque view of Bruges is obtained from this point: the octagonal Belfry, the square tower of St. Sauveur, (the Cathedral), the tapering brick spire of Notre-Dame, with its projecting gallery and the steeple of the new church of the Madeleine are all conspicuous in views from this side. Follow the ramparts to the R., to the picturesque =Porte de Ste. Croix=, and on past the barracks and the little garden to the Quai des Dominicains, returning by the Park and the Place du Bourg or the Dyver.

(3) Set out by the Grand’ Place and the Place du Bourg; then follow the Rue Haute, with its interesting old houses, as far as the canal. Do not cross it, but skirt the quay on the further side, with the towers of St. Walburge and St. Gilles in front of you. At the bridge, diverge to the right, round the church of St. Anne, and the quaint little =Church of Jerusalem=, which contains an unimportant imitation of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, founded by a burgomaster of Bruges in the 15th century. It is just worth looking at. Return to the bridge, and follow the quay straight on to the modern Episcopal Seminary and the picturesque old =Hospice de la Potterie=, which now harbours the Museum of Antiquities belonging to the Hospital of St. John. I do not advise a visit. (It contains third-rate early Flemish pictures, inferior tapestry, and a few pieces of carved oak furniture. Admission, 50 c.: entrance by the door just beyond the church, No. F, 79. The church itself is worth a minute’s visit.) This walk passes many interesting old houses, which it is not necessary now to specify. Return by the =Porte de Damme=, and the opposite side of the same canal, to the Pont des Carmes, whence follow the pretty canal on the right to the Rue Flamande.

(4) Take the Rue St. Jacques, and go straight out to the =Porte d’ Ostende=, which forms an interesting picture. Cross the canal and outer moat, and traverse the long avenue, past the gasometers, as far as the navigable canal from Bruges to Ostend. Then retrace your steps to the gateway, and return by the ramparts and the Railway Station to the Rue Nord du Sablon.

These four walks will show you almost all that is externally interesting in the streets and canals of the city.

* * * * *

The original Palace of the Counts of Flanders, we saw, occupied the site of the Palais de Justice. Their later residence, the =Cour des Princes=, in a street behind the Hôtel du Commerce, has now entirely disappeared. Its site is filled by a large ornate modern building, belonging to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, who use it as a school for girls.

The water-system of Bruges is also interesting. The original river Reye enters the town at the Minnewater, flows past the Hospital and the Dyver, and turns northward at the Bourg, running under arches till it emerges on the Place Jan van Eyck. This accounts for the apparently meaningless way this branch seems to stop short close to the statue of Van Eyck: also, for the mediæval ships unloading at the Grand’ Place. The water is now mostly diverted along the canals and the moat by the ramparts.

_E._ THE CHURCHES

[The =original Cathedral= of Bruges (St. Donatian) was
destroyed, as we saw, by the French, in 1799; but the town still
possesses two fine =mediæval churches= of considerable
pretensions, as well as several others of lesser importance.
Though of very ancient foundation, the two principal churches in
their existing form date only from the most flourishing period
of Bruges, the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries.

=St. Salvator= or =St. Sauveur=, the larger, was erected into
the =Cathedral= after the destruction of St. Donatian, whose
relics were transferred to it. To this, therefore, we will first
direct ourselves.]

Go down the Rue des Pierres as far as

THE CATHEDRAL,

which replaces a very ancient church built by St. Eligius (St. Éloy) in 646.

Externally, the edifice, which is built of brick, has rather a heavy and cumbrous effect, its chief good features being the handsome square tower and the large decorated windows of the N. and S. Transepts. The Choir and its chapels have the characteristic French form of a _chevêt_. The main portal of the N. Transept has been robbed of its sculpture. The Choir is of the late 13th century: the Nave and Transept are mainly in the decorated style of the 14th.

The best =entrance= is near the tower on the N. side. Walk straight on into the body of the Nave, by the archway in the heavy tower, so as to view the internal architecture as a whole. The =Nave= and _single_ =Aisles= are handsome and imposing, though the windows on the S. side have been despoiled of their tracery. Notice the curious high-pointed =Triforium= (1362), between the arches of the Nave and the windows of the Clerestory. The =Choir= is closed by a strikingly ugly debased Renaissance or rococo Rood-Screen, (1682), in black-and-white marble, supporting the organ. It has a statue of God the Father by the younger Quellin. The whole of the interior has been decorated afresh in somewhat gaudy polychrome by Jean Béthune. The effect is on the whole not unpleasing.

The Cathedral contains few works of art of high merit, but a preliminary walk round the Aisles, Transept, and Ambulatory behind the Choir will give a good idea of its general arrangement. Then return to view the paintings. The sacristan takes you round and unlocks the pictures. Do not let him hurry you.

Begin with the =Left Aisle=.

The =Baptistery=, on your L., contains a handsome font. R. and L. of the entry to it are admirable brasses. In the Baptistery itself, _L. wall_, are two wings of a rather quaint triptych, representing St. Martin dividing his cloak with the beggar; St. Nicholas raising to life the three boys who had been salted for meat; St. Mary Magdalen with the pot of ointment (in the distance, as Penitent in the Desert); and St. Barbara with her tower; dated 1613. Also a rude Flemish picture (16th century) of the lives of St. Joachim and St. Anna, and their daughter the Blessed Virgin:—the main episodes are the Marriage of the Virgin, Birth of the Virgin, and Rejection of St. Joachim from the Temple, with other scenes in the background.

The _end wall_ of the Baptistery has Peter Pourbus’s masterpiece, a *triptych painted for the =Guild of the Holy Sacrament=, attached to the church of St. Sauveur, and allusive to their functions. The _outer wings_, when closed, represent the Miracle of the Mass of St. Gregory, when the Host, as he consecrated it, was changed into the bodily Presence of the Saviour, to silence a doubter. It thus shows in a visible form the tremendous mystery of Transubstantiation, in honour of which the Guild was founded. Behind, the Brothers of the Confraternity are represented (on the right wing) in attendance on the Pope, as spectators of the miracle. One of them holds his triple crown. These may rank among the finest portraits by the elder Pourbus. They show the last stage in the evolution of native Flemish art before it was revolutionized by Rubens. The _inner picture_ represents, in the centre, the Last Supper, or rather, the Institution of the Eucharist, to commemorate which fact the Guild was founded. The arrangement of the figures is in the old conventional order, round three sides of a table, with Judas in the foreground to the left. The _wings_ contain Old Testament subjects of typical import, as foreshadowing the Eucharist. _Left_, Melchisedec giving bread and wine to Abraham; _right_, Elijah fed by the angel in the Wilderness. All the faces have still much of the old Flemish portrait character.

On the _R. wall_ are the wings of a picture, by F. Pourbus (the son), painted for the Guild of Shoemakers, whose chapel is adjacent. The _inside_ contains portraits of the members. On the _outside_ are their patrons, St. Crispinus and St. Crispianus, with their shoemakers’ knives. Also, an early Crucifixion, of the school of Cologne (about 1400), with St. Catherine holding her wheel and trampling on the tyrant Maximin, by whose orders she was executed, and St. Barbara with her tower. (These two also occur together in Memling’s great triptych.) The picture is interesting as the only specimen in Bruges of the precursors of Van Eyck on the lower Rhine. The Baptistery contains, besides, a fine old candlestick, and a quaint ciborium (for the Holy Oil) with coloured reliefs of the Seven Joys of Mary (1536).

The vistas from the =North Transept= are impressive. It terminates in the =Chapel of the Shoemakers’ Guild=, with a fine carved wooden door of about 1470, and good brasses, as well as an early crucifix. It is dedicated to the patron saints of the craft, and bears their arms, a boot.

The first two chapels in the =Ambulatory= (behind the Choir) have good screens.

The =third Chapel= encloses the tomb of Archbishop Carondelet, in alabaster, (1544,) a fine work of the Italian Renaissance. The Descent from the Cross by Claeissens, with the Crown of Thorns and the Holy Blood in the foreground: on the wings, St. Philip, and the donor, under the protection of (the canonized) Charlemagne. Near this is a =*triptych= by Dierick Bouts, (falsely ascribed to Memling) representing, in the _centre_, St. Hippolytus torn to pieces by four horses. (He was the jailor of St. Lawrence, who converted him: _see_ Mrs. Jameson). The faces show well the remarkable power of this bourgeois painter of Louvain. On the _left wing_ are the donors; on the _right wing_ Hippolytus confesses himself a Christian, and is condemned to martyrdom. Over the =altar=, _retable_, a Tree of Jesse, in carved woodwork, with the family of Our Lady: on the wings, (painted,) the legend of St. Hubert and the stag, and the legend of St. Lucy.

In the =Apse= is the Chapel of the Host.

The next =chapel=, of the Seven Sorrows, has a Mater Dolorosa of 1460 (copy of one at Rome); a fine _*brass_; and the *portrait of Philippe le Beau, known as Philippus Stok (father of Charles V), and bearing the collar of the Golden Fleece.

The =Choir=, (admirable architecturally,) contains the *stalls and arms of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, with good carved Misereres.

The Cathedral contains many other pictures of interest, which, however, do not fall within the scope of these Guides.

The =Chambre des Marguilliers=, or Churchwardens’ Vestry, contains manuscripts and church furniture, sufficiently described by the sacristan.

In the =Sacristy= are still preserved the relics of St. Donatian.

Give the sacristan a franc, and then go round alone again, to inspect the unlocked pictures at your leisure.

* * * * *

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 Church of

NOTRE-DAME,

which replaces a chapel, built by St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, in 744, and enclosed in the town in 909.

Stand opposite it, in the small Place on the N. side, to observe the somewhat shapeless architecture, the handsome brick tower crowned by a tall brick steeple, and the beautiful little =*porch= or “Paradise,” built out from the main structure in flamboyant Gothic of the 15th century. The portal of this porch has been walled up, and the area is now used as a chapel, approached from the interior. Notice the delicate tracery of the windows, the fine finials and niches, and the charming gable-end.

The picturesque building with turrets to the L. of the church was originally the =mansion= of the family =Van der Gruuthuus=, one of the principal mediæval stocks of Bruges. It had a passage communicating with the family gallery in the church of Notre-Dame. The building, recently restored, is now in course of being fitted up for the Town Museum of Antiquities. A Museum of Lace is already installed in it; the entrance is by a doorway over the bridge to the left (50 c. per person).

=Enter the church=, and walk straight into the Nave, below the great West Window, a spot which affords a good view of the centre of the church, the vaulted _double_ Aisles, and the angular Apse. The Choir is shut off from the body of the church by a very ugly marble Rood-Screen (1722), still bearing its crucifix, and with a figure of Our Lady, patroness of the church, enshrined above its central arch. Rococo statues of the Twelve Apostles, with their well-known symbols (1618), are attached to the pillars. (Note these symbols: they recur in similar situations everywhere.) In spite of hideous disfigurements, the main portion of the interior is still a fine specimen of good middle Gothic architecture, mainly of the 14th century.

Walk up the =outer left Aisle=. The last bay is formed by the =Baptistery=, originally the =porch=, whose beautiful exterior we have already viewed. Its interior architecture is also very charming. It contains the Font, and the usual figure of the patron, St. John the Baptist. This Aisle terminates in an apsidal chapel (of the Holy Cross) containing inferior pictures of the 17th century, representing the history of a relic of the True Cross preserved here.

The =inner left Aisle= leads to the =Ambulatory= or passage at the back of the Choir. The Confessionals to the R. have fairly good rococo carved woodwork, 1689. On the L. is the handsome mediæval woodwork =gallery= (1474), belonging to the Van der Gruuthuus family, originally approached by a passage from their mansion behind. Beneath it, is a screen of delicate early Gothic architecture, with family escutcheons above the door.

The windows of the =Apse= have good modern stained glass.

On the L., at the entrance to the Apse, Pourbus’s Adoration of the Shepherds, a winged picture, closed. The sacristan will open it. On the wings are, _left_, the donor, Sire Josse de Damhoudere, with his patron, St. Josse, and his four sons; _right_, his wife, Louise, with her five daughters, and her patron St. Louis of France, wearing his crown and robe of fleurs-de-lis, and holding the _main de justice_. He is represented older than is usual, or indeed historical, and in features somewhat resembles Henri IV. This is a fine picture for its master. On the outer wings are the cognate subjects, the Circumcision and the Adoration of the Magi, in grisaille.

The chapel in the Apse, formerly the Lady Chapel, now contains the Host. It has a gaudy modern altar for the monstrance.

In the =South Ambulatory=, over a doorway, Foundation of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore at Rome, by Claeissens.

A =chapel= to the =L=., just beyond, locked, but opened by the sacristan (1 franc; or, for a party, according to notice displayed at entrance), contains the celebrated =**tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold=, her father. Mary was the wife of Maximilian, and died by a fall from her horse in 1482, when only twenty-five. Her =**monument= was designed and executed by Peter Beckere of Brussels, by order of her son Philippe le Beau, in 1502. The sarcophagus is of black marble: the statue of the Princess, in gilt bronze, lies recumbent upon it. The style is intermediate between that of the later Middle Ages and of the full Renaissance. Beside it is the *tomb of Charles the Bold, of far less artistic value. Charles was buried at Nancy, after the fatal battle, but his body was transported to St. Donatian in this town by his descendant Charles V, and finally laid here beside his daughter by Philip II, who had this tomb constructed for his ancestor in imitation of that of Mary.

(I advise the visitor after seeing these tombs and the great chimney-piece of the _Franc de Bruges_ to read up the history of Charles the Bold and his descendants, down to Charles V.)

The _east wall_ of this chapel, beyond the tomb of Charles the Bold, has a fine picture of Our Lady of Sorrows, enthroned, surrounded by smaller subjects of the Seven Sorrows. Beginning at the left, the Circumcision, the Flight into Egypt, Christ lost by his parents in the Temple, the Way to Calvary, (with St. Veronica holding out her napkin,) the Crucifixion, (with Our Lady, St. John, and Mary Magdalen,) the Descent from the Cross, and the Deposition in the Tomb. A fine work of its sort, attributed to Mostart (or to Maubeuge). On the _west wall_ are two wings from a triptych by Pourbus, with tolerable portraits, (centre-piece destroyed,) and an early Flemish painting of the Deposition from the Cross (interesting for comparison with Roger van der Weyden and Gerard David). In the foreground lies the vessel containing the Holy Blood. On the wings are the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The whole is very rudely painted. Outside are portraits of the donor and his wife and children, with their patrons St. James (staff and scallop) and St. Margaret (whose dragon just appears in the background).

On an =arcade=, a little further on, is a very early fresco (1350?) of a saint (St. Louis of France?), and also a dainty small relief (about 1500) of a donor, introduced by his patron, St. Peter, adoring Our Lady.

The =end chapel= of the right aisle, that of the Holy Sacrament, contains a celebrated and noble white marble =**Madonna and Child, by Michael Angelo=, enshrined in a black marble niche. The pensive, grave, and graceful face, the exquisite modelling of the dainty naked Child, and the beautiful infantile pose of its left hand, all betray a design of Michael Angelo, though the execution may possibly have been left to pupils. But the modelling is softer and more feminine than is usual with this great sculptor, except in his early period. In this respect, it resembles most the unfinished Madonna in the Bargello at Florence. Condivi mentions that Peter Mouscron of Bruges ordered of Michael Angelo a Madonna and Child in bronze: he was probably mistaken as to the material: and we have here doubtless the work in question. Apart from its great artistic value, this exquisite group is interesting as affording another link between Flanders and Italy.

The same chapel also contains some good 17th century pictures.

Near the confessional, as we return towards the West End of the church, we find a good diptych of Herri met de Bles, of 1520, containing, _left panel_, an Annunciation, with all the conventional elements; to the left, as usual, is the angel Gabriel; to the right, Our Lady. These relative positions are never altered. The lilies in the pot, the desk and book, the bed with its furniture, the arcade in the background, and the rich brocade, are all constant features in pictures of this subject. Look out for them elsewhere. The _right panel_ has the Adoration of the Magi, with the Old, Middle-aged, and Young Kings, the last-named a Moor. This quaint and interesting work of a Flemish painter, with its archaic background, and its early Italian reminiscences, also betrays the influence of Dürer. Among the other pictures may be mentioned a triptych in an adjacent small chapel: the _central panel_ shows the Transfiguration, with the three apostles below, Moses, Elias, and the Eternal Father above (perhaps by Jan Mostart). On the _wings_ (much later, by P. Pourbus), are the portraits of the donor, his wife, and their patron saints.

The =West Wall= of the church has several large pictures of the later Renaissance, which can be sufficiently inspected on their merits by those who care for them. The best of them are the Adoration of the Magi by Seghers, and De Crayer’s Adoration of the Infant Jesus. I do not propose to deal at length with later Flemish art till we reach Brussels and Antwerp: at Bruges, it is best to confine oneself to the introductory period of Flemish painting—that of the Burgundian princes. I will therefore only call attention here to the meaningless way in which huge pictures like B. van Orley’s Crucifixion, with subsidiary scenes from the Passion, reproduce the form of earlier winged pictures, which becomes absurd on this gigantic scale.

* * * * *

The =Church of St. Jacques= stands in the street of the same name, conveniently near the Hôtel du Commerce. It is a good old mediæval building (12th century, rebuilt 1457-1518), but hopelessly ruined by alterations in the 17th century, and now, as a fabric, externally and internally uninteresting. Its architecture is in the churchwarden style: its decoration in the upholsterer’s. The carved wooden pulpit is a miracle of bad taste (17th century), surpassed only by the parti-coloured marble rood-screen. A few good pictures and decorative objects, however, occur among the mass of paintings ranged round its walls as in a gallery. The best is a =panel= of the old Flemish School (by Dierick Bouts, or more probably a pupil), in the _left aisle_, just beyond the second doorway. It tells very naïvely the History of St. Lucy (see Mrs. Jameson). _Left_, she informs her mother that she is about to distribute her goods to the poor, who are visibly represented in a compact body asking alms behind her. _Centre_, she is hailed before the consul Paschasius by her betrothed, whom she refuses to marry. She confesses herself a Christian, and is condemned to a life of shame. _Right_, she is dragged away to a house of ill-fame, the consul Paschasius accompanying; but two very stumpy oxen fail to move her. The Holy Ghost flits above her head. The details are good, but the figures very wooden. Dated, 1480.

Beside it is an extravagant Lancelot Blondeel of St. Cosmo and St. Damian, the doctor saints, with surgical instruments and pots of ointment. The central picture shows their martyrdom.

Further on hangs a good Flemish triptych (according to Waagen, by Jan Mostart), representing, the prophecies of Christ’s coming: _centre_, the Madonna and Child; with King Solomon below, from whom a genealogical tree rises to bear St. Joachim and St. Anna, parents of Our Lady. R. and L. of him, Balaam and Isaiah, who prophesied of the Virgin and Christ: with two Sibyls, universally believed in the Middle Ages to have also foretold the advent of the Saviour. The stem ends in the Virgin and Child. _Left_, the Tiburtine Sibyl showing the Emperor Augustus the vision of the glorious Virgin in the sky: _right_, St. John the Evangelist in Patmos beholding the Apocalyptic vision of the Woman clothed with the Sun. This is a fine work of its kind, and full of the prophetic ideas of the Middle Ages.

Pass round the =Ambulatory= and =Choir= to the _first chapel_ at the _east end_ of the _right Aisle_. It contains an altar with the Madonna and Child in Della Robbia ware, probably by Luca. Also, a fine tomb of Ferry de Gros and his two wives, the first of whom reposes by his side and the second beneath him. This is a good piece of early Renaissance workmanship (about 1530). The church also contains a few excellent later works by Pourbus and others, which need not be specified. This was the church of the Florentine merchants at Bruges (whence perhaps the Della Robbia) and particularly of the Portinari, who commissioned the great altar-piece by Van der Goes now in the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova at Florence.

The other churches of Bruges need not detain the tourist, though all contain a few objects of interest for the visitor who has a week or two at his disposition.

_F._ THE ACADEMY

[The =Académie des Beaux-Arts=, which formerly occupied the
_Poorters Loodge_ (or Guild Hall of the citizens within the
gates) has a small but valuable =collection of pictures=,
removed from the destroyed cathedral of St. Donatian and other
churches of Bruges, which well repays a visit. You will here
have an excellent opportunity for studying _Jan van Eyck_, whose
work I shall more particularly notice when we arrive at Ghent.
It is interesting, however, here to compare him with his great
successor, _Memling_, who is represented at the Academy by a
fine triptych. The little gallery also contains some admirable
works by _Gerard David_, one of the latest of the old School of
Flemish painters, whose work may thus be observed here side by
side with those of his two chief predecessors. Owing to the
ruinous state of the original building the collection has been
transferred to a temporary apartment, beyond the Hospital
bridge, near the Church of Notre-Dame. No tourist should leave
Bruges without visiting this interesting collection.]

The =Museum= is situated (at present) in a house on the right-hand side of the Rue Ste. Catherine, nearly opposite a new church. Go to it past the Hospital of St. John. Admission daily, 50 c. per person.

Begin in the centre of the =wall opposite the entrance=.

(1.) Jan van Eyck. =**Altar-piece=, ordered by George van der Palen, for the High Altar of the original Cathedral of =St. Donatian=, of which he was a canon. The centre of the picture is occupied by the Madonna and Child, the face of Our Lady somewhat recalling German models. She sits in the apse of a church, probably St. Donatian. The Child, whom it is the fashion to describe as “aged-looking,” fondles a parrot and grasps a bunch of flowers. To the left stands St. Donatian the Archbishop, patron saint of the church for which this altar-piece was painted. He bears his usual symbol, the wheel with five lighted candles (as in the beautiful panel by Gerard David in the National Gallery at London). This is a fine and finely-painted figure. To the right, St. George, in full armour, admirably represented, but in an affected attitude, lifts his casque somewhat jauntily as he presents his namesake the Canon George to Our Lady. In all this we get a touch of Burgundian courtliness: the event is represented as a state ceremonial. With his left hand the Saint supports his Red Cross banner. The portrait of the kneeling Canon himself,—asthmatic, pudding-faced—is very admirable and life-like, but by no means flattered. He grips his prayer-book with an old man’s tremulous hand. (For a profound criticism of this fine picture, see Conway.) The insipid Madonna, the rather foolish St. George, the fine portrait of the Canon, are all typical of Van Eyck’s manner. The accessories of architecture, decoration, and background, should also be carefully noted. The capitals of the columns and the knobs of glass in the window, as well as St. George’s costume, are elaborated in Van Eyck’s finest fashion.

(2.) Jan van Eyck. *Portrait of his wife, painted for presentation to the Bruges Guild of Painters, together with one of the artist himself, now undiscoverable. This is a fine though evidently unflattered portrait of a capable housewife, very stiffly arrayed in her best church-going costume. It deserves close inspection.

Above it, (3.) Head of Christ, ascribed to Jan van Eyck, but in reality a poor and reduced copy of the picture at Berlin.

(4.) Memling. **Triptych painted for =Willem Moreel= or =Morelli=, a member of a wealthy Savoyard family settled at Bruges. Like Jan van Eyck’s portrait of the two Arnolfini in London, and Hugo van der Goes’s triptych of the Portinari at Florence, this picture marks well the cosmopolitan character of old Bruges. In the _central panel_, St. Christopher (whose altar in the church of St. Jacques it adorned) wades with his staff through the water, feeling as he goes the increasing burden of the Christ-Child on his shoulder. (For the legend, see Mrs. Jameson.) To the left, above, is the diminutive figure of the hermit with his lantern, which always accompanies St. Christopher. The left foreground of the picture is occupied by St. Maurus, in his Benedictine costume; to the right is St. Giles (St. Egidius) the hermit, with the wounded doe, the arrow piercing the arm of the saint. The _left wing_ represents the donor, Willem Moreel, under the care of his patron, St. William, who wears a hermit’s dress above his coat of armour. (When a saint places his hand on a votary’s shoulder it usually implies that the votary is a namesake.) Behind are Moreel’s five sons. All these portraits, but particularly that of the donor and his eldest son, who closely resembles him, are admirable. The _right wing_ represents the donor’s wife, Barbara, under the protection of her patron, St. Barbara, with her tower, showing as usual three windows (emblematic of the Holy Trinity). Behind the lady are her two daughters, one of whom is habited as a Benedictine nun, whence, doubtless, the introduction of St. Maurus into the main altar-piece. This fine triptych originally decorated an altar of St. Christopher in Moreel’s private chapel in the church of St. Jacques. One of his daughters is the “Sibylla Sambetha” represented at the Hospital. The =wings= at the =back= represent in grisaille St. John the Baptist with the lamb, and St. George with the dragon. It was usual to paint the outer wings in grisaille or in low tones of colour, so that the splendour of the interior hues might burst upon the spectator as the triptych was opened.

(12) Attributed to Schoreel: really, by a master of the Brabant School. Death of the Virgin. Our Lady is represented on her deathbed, surrounded, as always, by the surviving apostles, who were miraculously collected together to her chamber. The faces are those of Flemish peasants or artisans. Above, Christ appears in glory, surrounded by a halo of cherubs, to receive her new-born soul. Two angels support his outer garment. This picture well shows the beginning of the later Flemish tendency.

Now return to No. 5, by Gerard David, on the other side of the great Van Eyck. This is a *triptych, painted for Jean des Trompes, for the High Altar of the lower chapel of the Holy Blood. The _central panel_ represents the =Baptism of Christ=. In the middle, the Saviour wades in the water of a diminutive Jordan, where the concentric circles show the increased careful study of nature. On the right-hand side of the picture, St. John-Baptist, patron saint of the donor, pours water on his head. The relative positions of these two figures, and of the angel to the left holding a robe, are conventional: they have descended from a very early period of art. (In the Ravenna mosaics, the place of the angel is filled by the river-god of the Jordan with his urn, afterwards transformed and Christianized into an angel with a towel. Look out in future for similar arrangements.) The central figures are weak; but the robe of the angel is painted with Flemish minuteness. So are the flowers and leaves of the foreground. Above, the dove descends upon the head of the Saviour, while the Eternal Father pronounces from the skies the words, “Behold my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

In the background are two other episodes: L., the preaching of St. John-Baptist (where Oriental costumes indicate the heathen); R., St. John-Baptist pointing out Christ to his disciples with the words, “Behold the Lamb of God.” The distance shows two towns and a fine landscape. Observe the admirable painting of the trees, with their good shadows; also the ivy climbing up the trunk of one to the right. This picture is among the earliest in which the gloom of a wood is accurately represented: in many other respects it well illustrates =the rise of landscape-painting=. (For an exhaustive criticism, see Conway.) The _left wing_ has a portrait of the donor, with his other patron, St. John the Evangelist, holding the cup. Beside the donor kneels his little son Philip. This portrait, the face and foot of the Evangelist, the fur of the donor’s robe, the crane in the background, and many other accessories deserve close attention. Two figures in the background dimly foreshadow Teniers. The _right wing_ has a portrait of the donor’s wife, Elizabeth, with her four daughters. Behind her stands her patroness, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in Franciscan robes, with the crown on her head and the double crown and book in her hands, as on the statuette at the door of the Béguinage. The painting of a rosary here is excellent. The _outer wings_ (turn them back) show, on the _left_, the Madonna and Child with a bunch of grapes; on the _right_, the donor’s second wife Madeleine, introduced by her patroness, St. Mary Madeleine, who holds the alabaster pot of ointment. By the lady’s side kneels her daughter. The background consists of a view, probably in the Bruges of that period. Painted about 1507.

6 and 7. Gerard David. =*The Punishment of the Unjust Judge.= These two panels are of a type commonly set up in courts of justice as a warning to evil-doers. They were ordered by the Bruges magistracy. You will see a similar pair by Dierick Bouts in Brussels. The story, a horrid one, is taken from Herodotus. Sisamnes was a judge in Persia whom King Cambyses detected receiving a bribe and ordered to be flayed alive. The king then stretched his skin on the seat of judgment, and appointed the son of Sisamnes to sit in his father’s place, that he might remember to avoid a like fate. The _first picture_ represents, in the background, the bribery. In the foreground, King Cambyses, in a rich embroidered robe, demonstrates on his fingers the guilt of the unjust judge. Sisamnes is seized on his tribunal by a man of the people; courtiers, lawyers, and burgesses looking on. The expression on his face and the painting of all the accessories is admirable. In the _second picture_ we have the flaying of the unjust judge, a horrible scene, powerfully rendered. Cambyses stands by, holding his sceptre, surrounded by courtiers who recall the last age of the Burgundian dominion. In the background (as a subsequent episode) the son of Sisamnes is seen sitting in his father’s place: behind him hangs the skin of the father. Architecture, landscape, ropes, and all other accessories of this painful picture should be carefully noted.