of late Romanesque architecture. It was built by Theodoric in 1150. Its
solid short pillars and round arches contrast with the lighter and later
Gothic of the upper building. The space above the door of the eastern of
the two chapels which face the entrance, is occupied by an interesting
mediæval relief representing a baptism with a dove descending. Notice as
you pass out, from the Place outside, the two beautiful _turrets_ at the
west end of the main chapel.
* * * * *
To the left of the Hôtel de Ville stands the ornate and much gilded
Renaissance building known as the =*Maison de l’Ancien Greffe=,
originally the municipal record office, but now employed as a
police-court. It bears the date 1537, and has been recently restored and
profusely covered with gold decoration. Over the main doorway is the
Lion of Flanders; on the architrave of the first floor are heads of
Counts and Countesses; and the building is surmounted by a figure of
Justice, with Moses and Aaron and emblematical statues. Note the Golden
Fleece and other symbols. The interior is uninteresting.
The E. side of the square is formed by the =Palais de Justice=, which
stands on the site of an old =palace of the Counts of Flanders=,
presented by Philippe le Beau to the Liberty of Bruges, and employed by
them as their town hall of the _Buitenpoorters_, or inhabitants of the
district outside the gate, known as the _Franc de Bruges_. The
Renaissance building, erected between 1520 and 1608, was burnt down and
replaced in the 18th century by the very uninteresting existing
building. Parts of the old palace, however, were preserved, one room in
which should be visited for the sake of its magnificent
=**chimney-piece=. In order to see it, enter the quadrangle: the
porter’s room faces you as you enter; inquire there for the key;
admission, 50 c. per person. The _concierge_ conducts you to the
Court-Room, belonging to the original building. Almost the entire side
of the room is occupied by a splendid Renaissance chimney-piece,
executed in 1529, after designs by Lancelot Blondeel of Bruges (a
painter whose works are frequent in the town), and Guyot de Beaugrant of
Malines, for the Council of the Liberty of Bruges, in honour of Charles
V., as a memorial of the Treaty of Cambrai, in 1526. (This was the
treaty concluded after the battle of Pavia, by which François I^{er} of
France was compelled to acknowledge the independence of Flanders. Some
of the figures in the background are allusive to the victory.) The lower
part, or chimney-piece proper, is of black marble. The upper portion is
of carved oak. The marble part has four bas-reliefs in white alabaster
by Guyot de Beaugrant, representing the History of Susannah, a mere
excuse for the nude: (1) Susannah and the Elders at the Bath; (2)
Susannah dragged by the Elders before the Judge; (3) Daniel before the
Judge exculpating Susannah; (4) The Stoning of the Elders. The genii at
the corners are also by Beaugrant. The whole is in the pagan taste of
the Renaissance. The upper portion in oak contains in the centre a
statue of Charles V., represented in his capacity as Count of Flanders
(as shown by the arms on his cuirass): the other figures represent his
descent and the cumulation of sovereignties in his person. On the throne
behind Charles (ill seen) are busts of Philippe le Beau, his father,
through whom he inherited the Burgundian dominions, and Johanna (the
Mad) of Spain, his mother, through whom he inherited the united
Peninsula. The statues L. and R. are those of his actual royal
predecessors. The figures to the L. are his paternal grandfather, the
Emperor Maximilian, from whom he derived his German territories, and his
paternal grandmother, *Mary of Burgundy, who brought into the family
Flanders, Burgundy, etc. Mary is represented with a hawk on her wrist,
as she was killed at twenty-five by a fall from her horse while out
hawking. (We shall see her tomb later at Notre-Dame.) The figures on the
R. are those of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, the
maternal grandfather and grandmother of Charles, from whom he inherited
the two portions of his Spanish dominions. The medallions at the back
represent the personages most concerned in the Treaty of Cambrai, and
the Victory of Pavia which rendered it possible. (De Lannoy, the
conqueror, to whom François gave up his sword, and Margaret of Austria.)
The tapestry which surrounds the hall is modern; it was manufactured at
Ingelmünster after the pattern of a few old fragments found in the
cellars of the ancient building. The mediocre painting on the wall
depicts a sitting of the court of the Liberty of Bruges in this room
(1659).
* * * * *
The N. side of the square is now occupied by a small Place planted with
trees. Originally, however, the =old cathedral= of Bruges occupied this
site. It was dedicated to St. Donatian, the patron of the city, whose
relics were preserved in it; but it was barbarously destroyed by the
French Revolutionary army in 1799, and the works of art which it
contained were dispersed or ruined. Figures of St. Donatian occur
accordingly in many paintings at Bruges. Jan van Eyck was buried in this
cathedral, and a =statue= has been erected to him under the trees in the
little Place. In order, therefore, mentally to complete the picture of
the Place du Bourg in the 16th century, we must imagine not only the
Hôtel de Ville, the Chapelle du Saint Sang, and the Ancien Greffe in
something approaching their existing condition, but also the stately
cathedral and the original Renaissance building of the _Franc de Bruges_
filling in the remainder.
An archway spans the space between the Ancien Greffe and the Hôtel de
Ville. Take the narrow street which dives beneath it, looking back as
you pass at the archway with its inscription of S.P.Q.B. (for Senatus
Populusque Brugensis). The street then leads across a bridge over the
river Reye or principal canal, and affords a good view of the back of
the earlier portion of the Palais de Justice, with its picturesque brick
turrets, and a few early arches belonging to the primitive palace. I
recommend the visitor to turn to the R. after crossing the bridge,
traverse the little square, and make his way home by the bank of the
Dyver and the church of Notre-Dame. The view towards the Hôtel de Ville
and the Belfry, from the part of the Dyver a little to the east behind
the Belfry, is one of the most picturesque and striking in Bruges.
_C._ THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN
[The =Hospital of St. John=, one of the most ancient
institutions in Bruges, or of its kind in Europe, was founded
not later than 1188, and still retains, within and without, its
mediæval arrangement. =Its Augustinian brothers and nuns= tend
the sick in the primitive building, now largely added to. It
derives its chief interest for the tourist, however, from its
small =Picture Gallery=, the one object in Bruges which must
above everything else be visited. This is the only place for
studying in full the exquisite art of =Memling=, whose charming
and poetical work is here more fully represented than elsewhere.
In this respect the Hospital of St. John may be fitly compared
with the two other famous “one-man shows” of Europe—the Fra
Angelicos at San Marco in Florence, and the Giottos in the
Madonna dell’ Arena at Padua. Many of the pictures were painted
for the institution which they still adorn; so that we have here
the opportunity of seeing works of mediæval art in the precise
surroundings which first produced them.
=Hans Memling=, whose name is also written _Memlinc_ and
_Memlin_, etc. (long erroneously cited as _Hemling_; through a
mistaken reading of the initial in his signature) is a painter
of whom little is known, save his work; but the work is the man,
and therefore amply sufficient. He was born about 1430, perhaps
in Germany, and is believed to have been a pupil of Roger van
der Weyden, the Brussels painter, whose work we shall see later
at Antwerp and elsewhere. Mr. Weale has shown that he was a
person of some wealth, settled at Bruges in his own house (about
1478), and in a position to lend money to the town. He died in
1495. His period of activity as a painter is thus coincident
with the earlier work of Carpaccio and Perugino in Italy; and he
died while Raphael was still a boy. In relation to the artists
of his own country, whose works we have still to see, Memling
was junior by more than a generation to Jan van Eyck, having
been born about ten years before Van Eyck died; he was also
younger by thirty years than Roger van der Weyden; and by twenty
or thirty years than Dierick Bouts; but older by at least twenty
than Gerard David. Memling has been called the Fra Angelico of
Flanders; but this is only true so far as regards Fra Angelico’s
panel works; the saintly Frate, when he worked in fresco,
adopted a style wholly different from that which he displays in
his miniature-like altar-pieces. It would be truer to say that
Memling is the Benozzo Gozzoli of the North: he has the same
love of decorative adjuncts, and the same naïve delight in the
beauty of external nature.
Before visiting the Hospital, it is also well to be acquainted
in outline with =the history of St. Ursula=, whose _châsse_ or
=shrine= forms one of its greatest treasures. The Hospital
possessed an important relic of the saint—her holy arm—and
about 1480-1489 commissioned Memling to paint scenes from her
life on the shrine destined to contain this precious deposit.
The chest or reliquary which he adorned for the purpose forms
the very best work of Memling’s lifetime.
=St. Ursula= was a British (or Bretonne) princess, brought up as
a Christian by her pious parents. She was sought in marriage by
a pagan prince, Conon, said to be the son of a king of England.
The English king, called Agrippinus in the legend, sent
ambassadors to the king of Britain (or Brittany) asking for the
hand of Ursula for his heir. But Ursula made three conditions:
first, that she should be given as companions ten noble virgins,
and that she herself and each of the virgins should be
accompanied by a thousand maiden attendants; second, that they
should all together visit the shrines of the saints; and third,
that the prince Conon and all his court should receive baptism.
These conditions were complied with; the king of England
collected 11,000 virgins; and Ursula, with her companions,
sailed for Cologne, where she arrived miraculously without the
assistance of sailors (but Memling adds them). Here, she had a
vision of an angel bidding her to repair to Rome, the threshold
of the apostles. From Cologne, the pilgrims went up the Rhine by
boat, till they arrived at Basle, where they disembarked and
continued their journey on foot over the Alps to Italy. At
length they reached the Tiber, which they descended till they
approached the walls of Rome. There, the Pope, St. Cyriacus,
went forth with all his clergy in procession to meet them. He
gave them his blessing, and lest the maidens should come to harm
in so wicked a city, he had tents pitched for them outside the
walls on the side towards Tivoli. Meanwhile, prince Conon had
come on pilgrimage by a different route, and arrived at Rome on
the same day as his betrothed. He knelt with Ursula at the feet
of the Pope, and, being baptized, received in exchange the name
of Ethereus.
After a certain time spent in Rome, the holy maidens bethought
them to return home again. Thereupon, Pope Cyriacus decided to
accompany them, together with his cardinals, archbishops,
bishops, patriarchs, and many others of his prelates. They
crossed the Alps, embarked again at Basle, and made their way
northward as far as Cologne. Now it happened that the army of
the Huns was at that time besieging the Roman colony; and the
pagans fell upon the 11,000 virgins, with the Pope and their
other saintly companions. Prince Ethereus was one of the first
to die; then Cyriacus, the bishops, and the cardinals perished.
Last of all, the pagans turned upon the virgins, all of whom
they slew, save only St. Ursula. Her they carried before their
king, who, beholding her beauty, would fain have wedded her. But
Ursula sternly refused the offer of this son of Satan; whereupon
the king, seizing his bow, transfixed her breast with three
arrows. Hence her symbol is an arrow; also, she is the patroness
of young girls and of virgins, so that her shrine is
particularly appropriate in a nunnery.
Most of the bones of St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins are
preserved at Cologne, the city of her martyrdom, where they are
ranged in cases round the walls of a church dedicated in her
honour; but her arm is here, and a few other relics are
distributed elsewhere.
The Hospital is open daily from 9 to 6; Sundays, 3 to 6. 1 franc
per person. If you have Conway, take it with you.]
From the Grand’ Place, turn down the Rue des Pierres, the principal
shopping street of Bruges, with several fine old _façades_, many of them
dated. At the Place Simon Stévin turn to the L., and go straight on as
far as the church of Notre-Dame. The long brick building with Gothic
arches, on your right, is the =**Hospital of St. John= the Evangelist.
First, examine the brick Gothic =exterior=. Over the outer doorway is
the figure of a bishop with a flaming heart, the emblem of St.
Augustine, this being an Augustinian hospital. Continue on to the
original main portal (now bricked up) with a broken pillar, and two 13th
century reliefs in the tympanum. That to the _right_ represents the
Death of the Virgin, with the Apostles grouped around, and the figure of
the Christ receiving her naked new-born soul as usual. Above is the
Coronation of Our Lady. That to the _left_ seems like a reversed and
altered _replica_ of the same subject, with perhaps the Last Judgment
above it. It is, however, so much dilapidated that identification is
difficult. (Perhaps the top is a Glory of St. Ursula.) Go on as far as
the little bridge over the canal, to inspect the picturesque river front
of the Hospital.
Return to the main portal and ring the inner bell. Admission, see above.
The =pictures= are collected in the former Chapter-house of the
Hospital, above the door of which is another figure of St. Augustine.
The centre of the room is occupied by the famous _châsse_ or =**shrine=
containing the arm of =St. Ursula=, a dainty little Gothic chapel in
miniature. It is painted with exquisite scenes from the legend, by
Memling, with all the charm of a fairy tale. He treats it as a poetical
romance. Begin the story on the side towards the window. (For a
penetrating criticism of these works, see Conway.)
_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.