Groeningemuseum, 2

 Continuing our visit to the wonderful Groeningemuseum in Bruges...

Pieter Pourbus, Last Supper, 1548, Judas heading for the exit

Another Boschy, a Judgement, 1486, now said to be either a) by Bosch,
b) his workshop, or c) a collaboration between Bosch and his workshop;
come on...all those Team Raphael or Team Rubens paintings are just the
same; why not just say it's a Bosch?! 

The details are absolutely consistent with Garden of
Earthly Delights and other undisputed works

Wouldn't you love to have had a drink with Bosch?

Heaven was an option for some...paucitas salvandorum

But it was pretty boring

Monk and nun enjoying a little quality time in the hot tub?

Heaven for climate, Hell for company...

Peter Brueghels the Younger, The Sermon of St. John, early 17th;
as with his dad's "religious" paintings, you have to study long and
hard to find the religious bit, namely St. John; the emphasis was
always on the folk 

Antonio Claeissons, Mars, Surrounded by the Arts and Sciences,
Conquers Ignorance, early 17th; evidently the arts and sciences
couldn't do it on their own and Mars was called in for back-up

There is much in the Groenigemuseum beyond the
early Flemish stuff we like; here, Joseph-Benoit Suvee,
The Invention of the Art of Drawing, 1791

Pierre Paulus, The Fumes, 1930

Henri Eugene Le Sidaner, Boat on a Canal (Morning), 1900

Xavier de Cocke, View of Bruges, 1880

Paul Delvaus, Serenity, 1970

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...)

Interim Update #1,282

Life moves on and so do we. After a nice stay in Bruges, and a nicer one in Ghent, aesthetically, we took the Flixbus back to CDG, spent a night there, and then flew on to Riga (via Frankfurt). Riga is an Art Nouveau center, with hundreds of structures of interest. Plus visiting Latvia and later Estonia will allow us to notch two more countries onto our walking sticks. Not that anyone is counting. Of course, the blog is behind, needing coverage of two Flemish art museums in Bruges, a museum and a cathedral in Ghent, plus the usual walking-around sights and sites. The blog will move on too. Eventually.

In Bruges, Again

July 4th we finished packing up, took a Bolt to the Bercy station and boarded the Flixbus to Bruges. Au revoir, Paris! We'll be back next May. Well, actually, next week, but only to fly out of CDG.

We got to Bruges early in the evening, found our lodgings, the interestingly-named Hotel Bla Bla, had a bite to eat, and then embarked on a wandering tour of the old city. We're here mostly for the Flemish art and museums, but the street scenes and old buildings are among Europe's best. We were in Bruges in 2015 and certainly a time or two before that...the first in 1979.

Outside our room at the Hotel Bla Bla, which I would characterize as a nice
sort-of boutique hotel...a dozen or so rooms in two different old buildings...all
updated...around a couple different garden areas

Hydrangeas going strong

Unhelpful but beautiful old map in reception

The white facade of Hotel Bla Bla

New to us department...get plastered while your hair gets done

Street scene

Door scene

The very famous bell tower on the square; In Bruges is one
of my very least favorite movies; thanks a lot, Marie

Part of the square; not Brussels, but nice, even if mostly 19th century
re-creations

Street scene

Belgian lace shop

Not all in a row

Sweets shop, just like in Paris

Every touristy European city has a torture museum or
two; we considered having drinks on the torture museum
terrace, but it was closed

Speculoos houses

Canal scene; Bruges is known as the Venice of the
North (along with Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Stockholm, 
and about thirty-five others; see here for a useful listing)

Ditto

Pollarded street scene

The classical Greek fish market (note Doric capitals)

Within

We found this place fairly interesting for its permanent built-in
counters, etc.; only one stall sells fish anymore, we've read; the
rest sell tourist trinketry

City map in lace

One of the several church towers

Close to the Groeningmseum where we'll spend
some time Friday

Dragon benches

Had we rented a car and driven Paris/Bruges/Ghent/Paris, we would
have stopped by the Abbey of St. Sixtus for a bottle or two of Westvleteren;
I'd hoped to find a bottle reasonably priced (<€20) in Bruges or Ghent and
was pleasantly surprised to find a #12 at this place for a mere €12.50; will
be pictured when I drink it in Ghent; I hope the Brothers have not compromised
the quality of their product with its availability...I also hope it's not a fake...

[Reserved For Once More Dear Friends Unto The Louvre, 2]

Once More Dear Friends Unto The Louvre, 1

We've been at the Louvre eight times in this campaign. We might have gone more but for the various maladies we've experienced on this trip. In any case, I've taken hundreds of photos, as usual, many of the same old favorites, as usual, many of which I've already posted in previous years. As usual. For this post and the next, I'm really going to try to confine myself to new things, paintings or angles or interpretations not posted before, so far as I can remember. If, for whatever bizarre reason, you want to see the many previous Louvre posts, just enter "Louvre" in the search box. Maybe fix yourself a mug of strong coffee. 

After doing the Italians on the Grand Corridor of Denon we returned four more times, mostly Richelieu and Sully, eventually doing the Spanish section, England, Flanders, the Dutch, and Germany, and then, mostly, the French. Everything from before La Tour to after Delacroix. I think we have become far more discerning in our art appreciation, looking for links between paintings and painters, paying far more attention to brush work and such. Consequently it may take me a while to condense these four visits down to something coherent and new. In the meantime, just enter "Louvre" in the search box.

On this day after the US Supreme Court's Trump/immunity ruling, Bosch's Ship of Fools 

most certainly comes to mind...