Flanders 2023

We've been in Belgium in September 2023 for ten very enjoyable and instructive days spent in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of this country.

After three days on the coast to visit Bruges, we based ourselves in Dendermonde and explored the cities of Ghent and Antwerp plus a day trip to Brussels.

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Thinking of our next destination: Italy and Portugal come to mind, or maybe the time has finally come for a US road trip…

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Antwerp: Museum of Fine Arts KMSKA

(vero;2023-Nov-13)

The KMSKA is the museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp; founded in 1810, it houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries. It has re-opened in September 2022 after eleven years of renovation works.

Click here for practical information on opening hours and prices of the museum. Note that this museum is open daily, one of the few to be opened on Mondays.

Detail of The Card Players by Theodoor Rombouts (see previous picture).

The so-called Rockox Triptych by Peter Paul Rubens (1613-15): the incredulity of Thomas framed by the donors Nicolaas Rockox (1560-1640) and his wife Adriana Perez (1568-1619). The triptych was painted for their funerary monument in the Recollects Church in Antwerp.

Detail of St Catherine of Alexandria by Artemisia Gentileschi (ca.1635).

This photo is a juxtaposition of two paintings belonging together (Master of Brabants, 16th century). On the right: Enclosed Garden painted inside a oak cabinet . On the left: Descent to Hell which is painted on the inside of the door of the oak cabinet. Click here for a view of the opened cabinet.

The legend of Saint Christopher (anonymous, 3rd quarter of 16th century).

Winter Pleasures by Jan Griffier I (1710-18).

Bernardo Bembo, Statesman and Ambassador of Venice by Hans Memling (ca.1474).

The Members of the Guild of the Old Crossbow of Mechelen by the Master of the Guild of Sint-Joris in Mechelen.

Detail of a portrait of "the painter and his wife" by the Master of Frankfurt (1496). This is obviously the wife. Click here for a full view of the painting.

Portrait of Adriana Croes by Jan Verspronck, 1644.

Portrait of Peter Paul Rubens by Jan-Gaspard Gevartius (1628-31).

The Mandrill by Oskar Kokoschka (1926). On loan from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

Self-Portrait by John Michael Rysbrack, ca.1730.

Doctor Cornelis van der Heijde and Ariaentgen Ariens de Buijser with their Children by Jan Daemen Cool (1639).

Itinerant Entertainers in a Brothel by Jan van Amstel, also known as the Brunswick Monogrammist.

The wedding dance by Pieter (I) Bruegel (ca. 1566).

The city tax collector by Marinus van Reymerswaele (1514-24).

Detail of The city tax collector by Marinus van Reymerswaele (see previous picture).

Saint Jerome in his study by Marinus van Reymerswaele (1541).

Brothel Scene by Joachim Beuckelaer (1563).

Cimon and Pero (also known as Roman Charity) by Jerôme Duquesnoy II (1602-1654)

Emperor Charles V as a child by Jan van Beers (1879).

Sculpture of an Amazon fighting a panther by August Kiss (1865). Note the painting on the wall on the right of the statue "Interior of the Academy Museum" by Henri van Dyck (1886) where this same sculpture is featured.

Embarkation at Calais by James Tissot (1883-5).

The distribution of bread in the village by Frans van Leemputten (1892).

Detail of the Temptation of Saint Anthony by Maerten de Vos.

Madonna Surrounded by Seraphim and Cherubim by Jean Fouquet, ca. 1450. Click here for a full view of the painting. Explanation from the KMSKA website: the French court painter Jean Fouquet created this apparent modern painting in the middle of the 15th century. The work was commissioned by Etienne Chevalier, treasurer to King Charles VII of France. Fouquet presents the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven. The three blue cherubim represent purity and air, the six red seraphim love and fire. The unusual, intense use of colour and bold representation make the painting fascinating. Agnès Sorel was probably the model for the Madonna. She was the mistress and counsellor of Charles VII. As the breast-feeding Madonna, Sorel was able to embody the prevailing ideal of beauty.

Triptych of the Seven Sacraments by Rogier van der Weyden (1440). Left panel: Baptism, Confirmation and Confession; Central panel: Christ on the Cross and the Eucharist; Right panel: the Ordinatio, Marriage and Extreme Unction.

Saint Mary Magdalene by Quinten Massijs (1514-24).

Philippe de Croy by Rogier van der Weyden (1460).

Virgin in the Church by the Master of 1499. This painting is part of the "Diptych of Christiaan de Hondt, abbott at Ter Duinen" (see also next picture). Click here for a full view of the diptych.

Portrait of Abbot Christiaan de Hondt by the Master of 1499. This painting is part of the "Diptych of Christiaan de Hondt, abbott at Ter Duinen" (see also previous picture). Click here for a full view of the diptych.

Detail of the triptych "the Last Judgement and the Seven Acts of Mercy" by Bernard van Orley (1517-25). Click here for a full view of the triptych. The scene represented here is the giving of water to the thirsty.

Landscape with a girl skipping rope by Salvador Dali (1936). On loan from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

The Proclamation of the Peace of Münster at the Grote Markt in Antwerp by Maximiliaen Pauwels (1640).

God the Father with Singing and Music-making Angels by Hans Memling, ca.1483.

Caritas (Charity) by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1540.

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Want to read more? Go back to Antwerp: the Plantin-Moretus Museum or go on to Antwerp: Museum of Fine Arts KMSKA or go up to Antwerp Major Museums