Saturday, July 13, 2024

Groeningemuseum, 1

The Groeningmuseum is perhaps the chief of Bruges' many museums: it has the van Eycks, the Boschs, and specimens of pretty much everything in between, from the North. We visited in 2013 and in 2015, but I posted pix of mostly just the biggies. Here and next I'll focus on the biggies again, mostly, but offering much more detail, since that's where it's at with the likes of van Eyck and Bosch.

In the gift shop, van Eyck portrait umbrella

Fortunately, I already have all the van Eyck fridge
magnets I'll ever need



The bookstore was impressive

The Groeningemuseum's most famous holding is van Eyck's Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele (1436) (also Baby J, St. Donatio and St. George); often compared with the Louvre's Chancellor Rolin, which is much smaller but gives a way better appreciation of van Eyck's powers, especially with landscape and perspective; details follow; and, if you really want to get into the rich symbolism, iconography, etc., have a look at the short but excellent Wikipedia article





She droned on, auf Deutsch, and on...but here is useful for perspective
The painting is on 6 oak panels, and the original frame
is lettered in some detail, describing the painting, its subjects,
and also contains van Eyck's signature; above, some of it
translated

As with the Arnolfini Wedding portrait, van Eyck's self-portrait
can be seen reflected in St. George's helmet

More incredible detail

Detail (among several) on Mary's throne: Cain bonking
Abel




























Van Eyck's portrait of his wife, Margareta, 1439






















Jan Provost's 1525 Last Judgement; I've already skipped over plenty
of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation (after van Eyck) of Flemish painters,
but include Provost's above because it has a nice lurid Hell 

Thus

Speaking of which, here's another...

Jacqus van den Coornhuse, way later, 1575

Someone please send this to Justice Thomas...Gerard David's 
Judgement of Cambyses, 1498...Cambyses was a judge who was
found to be corrupt and was then flayed (alive); in the upper
right of the 2nd panel, you can see his skin covering his judge's
throne...a reminder for his successor...



Once attributed to Bosch, now to a "follower," the Job Triptych, 
early 16th century; I hereby propose the term "Boschy" to apply to
Bosch-style paintings from roughly his vintage; there are several of
these, especially since the dendrochronological studies of
recent years removed several paintings from the Bosch canon (Bosch
died in 1516; the tree died in 1523; ergo...)


1 comment:

Tawana said...

Van Eyck's wife had an interesting style.