reached from the Place Verte, through the little triangular Marché aux
Gants, in front of the main _façade_ of the Cathedral. It was, however,
so entirely modernized under the Spanish _régime_ that it now possesses
very little interest. The W. side of the square is entirely occupied by
the =Hôtel-de-Ville=, a poor Renaissance building, which looks very weak
after the magnificent Gothic Town Halls of Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and
Louvain. The _façade_ is extremely plain, not to say domestic. The
ground floor has an arcade in imitation of Italian _rustica_ work, above
which come two stories with Doric and Ionic columns (and Corinthian in
the centre); the top floor being occupied by an open _loggia_,
supporting the roof. In the centre, where we might expect a spire, rises
a false gable-end, architecturally meaningless. The niche in the gable
is occupied by a statue of Our Lady with the Child (1585), the patroness
of the city, flanked by allegorical figures of Wisdom and Justice.
The =interior= has been modernized: but it contains one fine hall, the
_Salle Leys_, decorated with noble archaistic paintings by Baron Leys.
It may be visited before 9, or after 4 in the evening (1 franc to the
_concierge_). In the Burgomaster’s Room is also a good Renaissance
chimney-piece, from the Abbey of Tongerloo, with reliefs of the Marriage
at Cana, the Brazen Serpent, and Abraham’s Sacrifice.
The square contains a few =Guild Houses= of the 17th century, the best
of which is the _Hall of the Archers_, to the R. of the Hôtel-de-Ville,
a handsome and conspicuous building, lately surmounted by a gilt figure
of St. George slaying the Dragon, in honour of the patron saint of the
Archers. The older Guild Houses, however, were mostly destroyed by the
Spaniards. The square, as it stands, being Renaissance or modern, cannot
compare with the Grand’ Place in most other Belgian cities.
The centre of the Place is occupied by a bronze =fountain=, with a
statue of Silvius Brabo, a mythical hero of mediæval invention, intended
to account for the name Brabant. He is said to have cut off the hand of
the giant Antigonus, who exacted a toll from all vessels entering the
Schelde, under penalty of cutting off the hand of the skipper,—a myth
equally suggested by a false etymology of Antwerp from _Hand Werpen_
(Hand throwing). The Hand of Antwerp, indeed, forms part of the city
arms, and will meet you on the lamp-posts and elsewhere. It is, however,
the ordinary Hand of Authority (Main de Justice), or of good luck, so
common in the East, and recurring all over Europe, as on the shields of
our own baronets. Such a hand, as an emblem of authority, was erected
over the gate of many mediæval Teutonic cities.
* * * * *
One of the objects best worth visiting in Antwerp, after the Cathedral
and the Picture Gallery, is the =Plantin-Moretus Museum= containing many
memorials of a famous family of =Renaissance printers=, whose monuments
we have already seen in the Cathedral. To reach it you turn from the
Place Verte into the Rue des Peignes, almost opposite the S. door of the
Cathedral. The second turning to the R. will lead you into the small
_Place du Vendredi_, the most conspicuous building in which is the
Museum.
Beyond advising a visit, it is difficult to say much about this
interesting old house and its contents. Those who are lovers of
_typography_ or of _old engravings_ will find enough in it to occupy
them for more than one morning. Such had better buy the admirable work,
_Le Musée Plantin-Moretus_, by M. Max Rooses, the conservator. On the
other hand, the general sight-seer will at least be pleased with the
picturesque courtyard, draped in summer by the mantling foliage and
abundant clusters of a magnificent old vine, as well as with the
spacious rooms, the carved oak doorways, balustrades, and staircases,
the delicious galleries, the tiles and fireplaces, and the many
admirable portraits by Rubens or others. Were it merely as a striking
example of a =Flemish domestic interior= of the upper class during the
Spanish period, this Museum would well deserve attention. Read the
following notes before starting.
The =house of Plantin= was established by Christopher Plantin of Tours
(born 1514), who came to Antwerp in 1549, and established himself as a
printer in 1555. He was made Archetypographer to the King by Philip II.,
and the business was carried on in this building by himself, his
son-in-law, Moretus, and his descendants, from 1579 till 1875. It was
Plantin’s daughter, Martina, who married John Moretus (see the
Cathedral), and under the name of Plantin-Moretus the business was
continued through many generations to our own day. The firm were
essentially =learned printers=, setting up works in Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew, or even in Oriental types, and issuing editions of many
important classical authors. I will not describe the various rooms,
about which the reader can wander for himself at his own sweet will, but
will merely mention that they contain admirable portraits of the Plantin
and Moretus families, and of their famous editor, Justus Lipsius, by
Rubens, and others. (The Lipsius is particularly interesting for
comparison with the one at Florence in the Pitti.) The dwelling-rooms
and reception-rooms, of the family, with their fine early furniture, are
now open to the visitor. So is the quaint little =shop=, facing the
street, the composing room and proof-readers’ room, the =study= occupied
by Lipsius, and the =library=, with examples of many of the books
printed by the firm. The original =blocks= of their woodcuts and of
their capital letters, with the plates of their engravings, are likewise
shown, together with old and modern impressions. Do not suppose from
this, however, that the place is only interesting to book-hunters or
lovers of engravings. The =pictures and decorations= alone,—nay, the
house itself—will amply repay a visit.
* * * * *
A walk should be taken from the Place Verte, by the Vieux Marché au Blé,
or through the Marché aux Gants, to the river front and =Port= of the
Schelde. (Follow the tram-line.) Here two handsome raised =promenoirs=
or esplanades, open to the public, afford an excellent *view over the
river, the old town, and the shipping in the harbour.
The _southernmost_ (and pleasantest) of these _promenoirs_ ends (S.)
near the =Porte de l’Escaut=, a somewhat insignificant gateway, designed
by Rubens, and adorned with feeble sculpture by Arthus Quellin. It stood
originally a little lower down the river, but has been removed, stone by
stone, to its present situation. The quaint red building, with hexagonal
turrets at the angles, visible from both esplanades, is the _Vieille
Boucherie_, or Butchers’ Guild Hall, of 1503. It stands in a squalid
quarter, but was once a fine edifice. Near the N. end of this
_promenoir_, a =ferry-boat= runs at frequent intervals to the
=Tête-de-Flandre= on the opposite shore of the river. Here there is a
Kursaal and a strong fort. It is worth while crossing on a fine day in
order to gain a general view of the quays and the town. The
_northernmost promenoir_ is approached by an archway under the
castellated building known as the =Steen=. This is a portion of the old
Castle of Antwerp, originally belonging to the Margraves and the Dukes
of Brabant, but made over by Charles V. to the burghers of Antwerp. The
Inquisition held its sittings in this castle. It is now, though much
restored and quite modern-looking (except the portal), almost the only
remaining relic of Mediæval Antwerp, outside the Cathedral. It contains
a small Museum of Antiquities (unimportant; open daily, 10 to 4: 1 fr.:
Sunday and Thursday free). Unless you have plenty of time you need not
visit it.
A little way beyond the N. end of the _northern promenoir_ a tangled
street leads to the =Church of St. Paul=, which will be described
hereafter. Continuing along the _Quays_ in this direction you arrive at
last at the =Docks=. The large modern castellated building in front of
you is the =Pilotage=, round which sea-captains congregate in clusters.
Turning along the dirty quay to the R., you reach shortly on the L. the
site of the =Maison Hanséatique=, which was the _entrepôt_ in Antwerp of
the Hanseatic League. But it was burnt down a few years since, and its
place is now occupied by mean sheds and warehouses. All this quarter is
given over to the most unsightly and malodorous realities of modern
seafaring life and commerce.
* * * * *
Antwerp is somewhat ill provided with =drives= or country walks. The
prettiest of its =public gardens= is the little =Park=, which may be
reached from the Avenue des Arts by either of the three main Avenues
eastward, adorned respectively with statues of Quentin Matsys, Leys, and
Jordaens. The Park is a small but ingeniously laid out triangular area,
occupying the site of an old bastion, with a pleasing sheet of
ornamental water (originally the moat), crossed by a bridge, and backed
up by the twin spires of the modern Church of St. Joseph. Around it lies
the chief residential quarter of 19th century Antwerp. This is a cool
stroll in the afternoon, for one tired of sight-seeing. (Ask your hotel
porter when and where the band plays daily.) Further on in the same
direction is the pretty little public garden known as the =Pépinière=,
and lying in a pleasant open quarter. (Band here also.)
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, and has a rather pretty alpine
rock-garden. On Sunday afternoons, a good band plays here from 3 to 6,
and all Antwerp goes to listen to it.
* * * * *
A round of the =Avenues= may best be made in an open tram. The northern
portion, leading from the _Entrepôt_ and the _Goods Station_ as far as
the Place de la Commune, has few objects of interest. In the Place de la
Commune you pass, R., the handsome and ornate _Flemish Theatre_; while,
L., the Rue Carnot leads to the Zoological Garden, and to the
uninteresting industrial suburb of Borgerhout. Beyond this comes a
_Covered Market_, L., and then the Place Teniers, with a statue of
Teniers. Here the Avenue de Keyser leads, L., to the main Railway
Station (Gare de l’Est). Further on, L., the Avenue Marie-Thérèse, with
a statue of Matsys, runs to the Park. So, a little later, do the Avenue
Louise-Marie, with a statue of Leys, and the Avenue Marie-Henriette,
with a statue of Jordaens. The handsome building, with domed and rounded
turrets, on your R., just beyond the last-named Avenue, is the _Banque
Nationiale_, intended to contain the public treasure of Belgium in case
of war. Here the Chaussée de Malines leads off, S.E., to the
uninteresting suburb of Berchem. The heavy new building on the L., a
little further S., looking like a French mediæval _château_, is the
_Palais de Justice_. From this point the Avenue du Sud runs through an
unfinished district, occupying the site of the old _Citadel_ (Alva’s)
past the _Museum_ and the _Palais de l’Industrie_, to the desolate Place
du Sud, with the _South Railway Station_. You can return by tram along
the Quays to the Hôtel-de-Ville and the Cathedral.
If you have plenty of time to spare, you may devote a day to
THE ROCOCO CHURCHES.
Most of the Antwerp churches, other than the Cathedral, are late Gothic
or Renaissance buildings, disfigured by all the flyaway marble
decorations so strangely admired during the 17th and 18th centuries. Few
of them deserve a visit, save for a picture or two of Rubens still
preserved on their altars. There are one or two, however, usually gone
through by tourists, and of these I shall give some brief account, for
the benefit of those who care for such things, though I do not think you
need trouble about them, unless you have plenty of time, and are
specially attracted by the later School of Antwerp.
The most important of these rococo churches is =St. Jacques=, the
principal doorway of which opens into the Longue Rue Neuve. The
pleasantest way to reach it, however, is to go from the Place Verte
through the Marché aux Souliers, following the tramway to the Place de
Meir. This broad street (one of the few open ones in Antwerp), lined by
baroque Renaissance mansions of some pretensions, has been formed by
filling up an old canal. The most imposing building on the R., marked by
two angels holding an oval with the letter L. (the king’s initial), is
the =Royal Palace=. A little further on, upon the same side of the
street, is the =House of Rubens’s Parents=, with his bust above, and an
inscription on its pediment signifying the fact in the Latin tongue. To
reach St. Jacques you need not go quite as far down the street as these
two buildings. Turn to your L. at the =Bourse=, a handsome modern
edifice, standing at the end of what looks like a blind alley. The road
runs through it, and it is practically used as a public thoroughfare.
The building itself is recent—1869-72—but it occupies the site of a
late-Gothic Exchange of 1531, erected by Dominic van Waghemakere. The
present Bourse resembles its predecessor somewhat in style, but is much
larger, has an incongruous Moorish tinge, and is provided with a
nondescript glass-and-iron roof. Turn to the R. at the end of the lane,
and continue down the Longue Rue Neuve, which leads you towards St.
Jacques, a late-Gothic church, never quite completed. The entrance is
not by the _façade_, but on the S. side, in the Longue Rue Neuve.
(Visitors admitted from 12 till 4 p.m., 1 fr. per person. Knock at the
door, and the sacristan will open.)
The =interior= is of good late-Gothic architecture, terribly over-loaded
with Renaissance tombs and sprawling baroque marble decorations. The
church was used as the Pantheon (or Westminster Abbey) for burials of
distinguished Antwerp families under the Spanish domination; and they
have left in every part of it their ugly and tasteless memorials.
Begin in the =S. Aisle=.
_1st chapel._ Van Dyck: St. George and the Dragon: mediocre. Above,
statue of St. George, to whom angels offer crowns of martyrdom. Good
modern marble reliefs of Scenes from the Passion, continued in
subsequent chapels.
At the end, Baptistery, with good font.
_2nd chapel_, of St. Antony. Temptation of St. Antony, by M. De Vos.
Italian 17th century Madonna.
_3rd chapel_, of St. Roch, the great plague-saint. It contains an
altar-piece by E. Quellin, angels tending St. Roch when stricken with
the plague. Above, the saint with his staff and gourd, in marble,
accompanied by the angel who visited him in the desert. On the window
wall, relics of St. Roch, patron against the plague. Round this chapel
and the succeeding ones are a series of pictures from the Life of St.
Roch, by an unknown Flemish master, dated 1517. They represent St. Roch
in prison; relieved by the dog; resting in the forest; visited by the
angel; etc. (See Mrs. Jameson.) A tomb here has a good Virgin and Child.
_4th chapel._ Fine old tomb; also, continuation of the History of St.
Roch.
_5th chapel._ More History of St. Roch. On the wall, relics of St.
Catherine, who stands on the altar-piece with her sword and wheel;
balanced, as usual, by St. Barbara. The chapel is dedicated to St. Anna,
who is seen above the altar, with Our Lady and the Infant.
_6th chapel._ Baptism of Christ, by Michael Coxcie, on the altar. Window
wall, M. De Vos: Triptych: Centre, Martyrdom of St. James; L., the
daughter of the Canaanite; R., the daughter of Jairus. (The wings are by
Francken.)
The =S. Transept= has Renaissance figures of the Apostles (continued in
the N. transept).
The =Choir= is separated from the Nave and Transepts by an ugly
Renaissance _rood-screen_.
The =Chapel of the Host=, in the S. transept, is full of twisting and
twirling Renaissance marble-work, well seconded by equally obtrusive
modern works in the same spirit.
The =Ambulatory= has a marble screen, separating it from the Choir, in
the worst taste of the Renaissance, with many rococo tombs and
sculptures of that period plastered against it.
_1st chapel_, of the Trinity, has a Holy Trinity for altar-piece, by Van
Balen.
The door to the L. gives access to the =Choir=, with an atrocious
sculptured High Altar, and carved choir-stalls.
_2nd_ and _3rd_ chapels, uninteresting.
The _end chapel_, behind the High Altar, is the =burial chapel of the
Rubens family=. The =altar-piece=, painted by Rubens for his family
chapel, represents the Madonna and Child adored by St. Bonaventura;
close by stands the Magdalen; to the L. a hurrying St. George
(reminiscent of the St. Sebastian by Veronese at Venice), and to the R.,
a very brown St. Jerome. The calm of the central picture, with its group
of women, is interfered with by these two incongruous male figures. It
is like parts of two compositions, joined meaninglessly together. Above
are infant cherubs scattering flowers. One would say, Rubens had here
thrown together a number of separate studies for which he had no
particular use elsewhere. But the colour is most mellow.
_5th chapel_, of San Carlo Borromeo (who practically replaced St. Roch
in later cosmopolitan Catholicism as the chief plague-saint). The
altar-piece, by Jordaens, represents the saint invoking the protection
of Christ and Our Lady for the plague-stricken in the foreground.
Painted for the town almoner.
_6th chapel._ Three good portraits.
_7th chapel._ Visitation, by Victor Wolfvoet.
The =N. Transept= has the continuation of the Twelve Apostles, with two
of the four Latin Fathers by the portal (the other two being at the
opposite doorway). The =Chapel= (=of Our Lady=) resembles that in the S.
Transept, and is equally terrible.
=N. Aisle=: The _2nd chapel_ has a fine triptych by M. De Vos, of the
Glory of Our Lady. _Centre_, the Court of Heaven, where the prominent
position of Our Lady is unusual, and marks an advanced phase of her
cult. In the assemblage of saints below, St. Peter, St. John-Baptist,
and many others, may be recognised by their symbols. The _L. wing_ has
the Calling of Matthew; the _R. wing_, St. Hubert, with the apparition
of the crucifix between the horns of the stag. Beneath are good
portraits of donors. The fine _stained glass window_ of this chapel is
noteworthy. It represents the Last Supper, with donors (1538).
The _3rd chapel_, of the Rockox family, has a good triptych, by Van
Orley, of the Last Judgment. On the _wings_ are portraits of the donor
and family. L., Adrian Rockox and sons, with his patron St. Adrian
(sword, anvil). R., his wife, Catherine, with her daughters, and her
patroness, St. Catherine.
_4th chapel._ Good triptych by Balen. Centre, Adoration of the Magi; R.
and L., Annunciation and Visitation. On a tomb opposite, good portraits
by Ryckaert.
_5th chapel._ Triptych, by M. De Vos: Presentation of Our Lady in the
Temple. L., The Pagans attempt in vain to burn the body of St. Mark; R.,
Martyrdom of St. Lucy.
Another church frequently visited by tourists is =St. Paul=, formerly
belonging to a Dominican Monastery by its side, and situated in a dirty
and malodorous district. Do not attempt to go to it direct. Reach it by
the Quays, turning to the R. near the end of the Northern Promenoir.
Over the outer doorway of the court is a rococo relief of St. Dominic
receiving the rosary from Our Lady. To the R., as you enter, is an
astonishing and tawdry Calvary, built up with rock and slag against the
wall of the Transept. It has, above, a Crucifixion; below, Entombment
and Holy Sepulchre. All round are subsidiary scenes: St. Peter, with the
crowing cock; Christ and the Magdalen in the Garden; Angels to lead the
way, etc. The church itself is an imposing late-Gothic building,
uglified by unspeakable rococo additions. (Admission, from 12 till 4.
Knock at the door: 1 fr. per person. But unless you are a great admirer
of Rubens, the sum is ill-bestowed for seeing one or two of his less
important pictures.) In the N. Transept is Rubens’s *Scourging of
Christ, covered: the only thing here really worth seeing. In the N.
Aisle, one of his weakest Adorations of the Magi. On the altar of the
Sacrament, a so-called “Dispute on the Sacrament,” by Rubens: really,
the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, especially the Dominicans,
represented by St. Thomas Aquinas, in devout contemplation of the
Mystery of the Eucharist. The other pictures in the church are
relatively uninteresting works of the School of Rubens; the best is a
Way to Calvary by Van Dyck.
If you want more Rubenses, you will find a Madonna, with a great group
of Augustinian and primitive saints, in the Church of =St. Augustine=
(Rue des Peignes), where there is also a good Ecstasy of St. Augustine
by Van Dyck; and in the Church of =St. Anthony of Padua= (Marché aux
Chevaux), a picture, partly by Rubens, representing St. Anthony
receiving the Child Jesus from the hands of the Virgin: but I do not
recommend either excursion.
* * * * *
Antwerp is strongly =fortified=, and a moat, filled with water, runs
round its existing _enceinte_. The Old Citadel to the S. has been
demolished (its site being now occupied by the Museum and the unfinished
quarter in that direction), and a New Citadel erected in the N. The
defensive works are among the finest in Europe.
If you wish to see =whither Flemish art went=, you must go on to
=Holland=. But if you wish to know =whence Flemish art came=, you must
visit the =Rhine Towns=.
If you are returning to England, _viâ_ Calais, stop on the way to see
the noble Romanesque and Transitional Cathedral at =Tournai=. You can
easily do this without loss of time by taking the _first_ boat train
from Brussels in the morning, stopping an hour or two at Tournai (break
permitted with through tickets), and going on by the _second_ train. You
can register your luggage through to London, and have no more bother
with it. You will then have seen everything of the first importance in
Belgium, except Ypres. And Ypres is so inaccessible that I advise you to
neglect it.
V
HISTORICAL NOTES
IN the separate Introductions to the various towns, dealing rather
with Origins than with History, I have laid stress chiefly on the
=industrial and municipal facts=, which in Belgium, indeed, are
all-important. I add here, however, a few =general notes= on the
=political history= of the country as a whole, chiefly =dynastic=. These
may serve for reference, or at least as reminders; and in particular
they should be useful as giving some information about the originals of
portraits in the various galleries.
The two portions of the modern kingdom of Belgium with which we are most
concerned in this Guide are the =County of Flanders= and the =Duchy of
Brabant=. The first was originally a fief of France; the second, a
component member of the Empire. They were commercially wealthier than
the other portions of the Gallo-German borderland which is now Belgium;
they were also the parts most affected by the Burgundian princes; on
both which accounts, they are still by far the richest in works of art,
alike in architecture, in painting, and in sculpture.
The vast Frankish dominions of the Merovingians and of the descendants
of Charlemagne—of the Merwings and Karlings, to be more strictly
Teutonic—showed at all times a tendency to break up into two distinct
realms, known as the =Eastern and Western Kingdoms= (Austria—not, of
course, in the modern sense—and Neustria). These kingdoms were not
artificial, but based on a real difference of race and speech. The
Eastern Kingdom (Franken or Franconia) where the Frankish and Teutonic
blood was purest, became first the Empire, in the restricted sense, and
later Germany and Austria (in part). The Western Kingdom (Neustria)
where Celtic or Gallic blood predominated, and where the speech was
Latin, or (later) French, became in time the Kingdom of France. But
between these two Francias, and especially during the period of unrest,
there existed a certain number of middle provinces, sometimes even a
middle kingdom, known from its first possessor, Lothar, son of
Charlemagne, as Lotharingia or Lorraine. Of these middle provinces, the
chief northern members were Flanders, Brabant, Hainault, and Liège.