Flemish Painting - From Van Eyck to Rubens: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels

Flemish Painting - From Van Eyck to Rubens: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels

• Immersion in the paintings of the Golden Age in the beautiful, unspoilt cities in which they were created.
• The main centres of Flemish art: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels and Louvain.
• Based in Ghent, which is equidistant to the other places on the itinerary.
• First-class train travel from London.

INTRO

ITINERARY

DETAILS

GALLERY

PRE & POST

INTRODUCTION

Rubens's altar for the church of st James, Antwerp engraving 1790.

Western art began in the southern Netherlands. In the context of 40,000 years of human artistic endeavour, painting which gives primacy to the naturalistic depiction of the visible world was an eccentric digression. But the illusionistic triad of solidity, space and texture first came together early in the fifteenth century in what is now Belgium, and dominated European art for the next five hundred years.

The Flemish cities of Bruges and Ghent were among the most prosperous and progressive in mediaeval Europe. Brussels and Antwerp peaked later, the latter becoming Europe’s largest port in the sixteenth century. All retain tracts of unspoilt streetscape which place them among the most attractive destinations in northern Europe.

Jan van Eyck and his brother Hubert stand at the head of the artistic revolution. Their consummate skill with the hitherto unexploited technique of oil painting resulted in pictures which have rarely been equalled for their jewel-like brilliance and breathtaking naturalism. The tradition of exquisite workmanship was continued with the same tranquillity of spirit by such masters as Hans Memling in Bruges and with greater emotionalism by Rogier van der Weyden in Brussels and Hugo van der Goes in Ghent, while Hieronymus Bosch was an individualist who specialised in the depiction of human sin and hellish retribution.

The sixteenth century saw a shift towards mannerist displays of virtuoso skill and spiritual tension, though the outstanding painter of the century was another individualist, Pieter Bruegel.

A magnificent culmination was reached in the seventeenth century with Peter Paul Rubens, the greatest painter of the Baroque age. His works are of an unsurpassed vigour and vitality, and are painted with a breadth and bravura which took the potential of oil painting to new heights. This tour presents one of the most glorious episodes in the history of art.

ITINERARY

DAY 1

Ghent. Depart at c. 11.00am from London St Pancras by Eurostar for Lille, and from there drive to Ghent. Check into the hotel before visiting the cathedral to see the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb polyptych by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, one of the greatest masterpieces of Netherlandish painting. Visit briefly the Museum of Fine Arts, principally to see a work by Hieronymus Bosch.

DAY 2

Bruges. With its canals, melancholic hues and highly picturesque streetscape, Bruges is one of the loveliest cities in northern Europe. A major manufacturing and trading city in the Middle Ages, decline had already set in before the end of the 15th century. The Groeninge Museum has an excellent collection by Flemish masters including Jan van Eyck, and the mediaeval Hospital of St John contains major paintings by Hans Memling. Also seen are the market place with its soaring belfry, the Gothic town hall and the Church of Our Lady, where Michelangelo’s marvellous marble Madonna and Child is located.

DAY 3

Antwerp. The great port on the Scheldt has an abundance of historic buildings and museums and churches of the highest interest. Four of Rubens’s most powerful paintings are in the vast Gothic cathedral, joined for the first time since 1799 by a dozen major altarpieces dispersed by Napoleon. The house and studio Rubens built for himself are fascinating and well stocked with good pictures, and the Mayer van der Bergh Museum has a small but outstanding collection including works by Bruegel.

DAY 4

Brussels, Louvain. Thriving in the 19th and 20th centuries, Brussels nevertheless retains splendid palaces and guildhouses around the Grand Place. The Fine Arts Museum is one of the best in Europe, and presents a comprehensive collection of Netherlandish painting as well as international works. The attractive university city of Louvain has a splendid Gothic town hall and the Institution of the Sacrament by Dirck Bouts, still in the chapel for which it was painted. Return to Brussels for the train to London St Pancras, arriving c. 6.00pm.