My Favorite Paintings in Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp (Antwerpen), Belgium

We had only a day trip to Antwerp, whose art scene was dominated by the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.  In one of several stops, the Cathedral of Our Lady (De Kathedraal), we saw several of his great panels.  Most ambitiously conceived and marvelously executed were two triptychs, which were my favorites in this great house of worship and temple of art.

Both triptychs depicted the crucial moment of Jesus's life cycle - The Elevation of the Cross (1610) and The Descent from the Cross (1612-1614) - moment before and after his death - the subject matters hardly need explain.


The Elevation of the Cross (1610)


The Descent (Deposition) from the Cross (1612-1614), Visitation (Left), Presentation (Right)

The most impressive aspect of these panels was the dynamism of the central panels.  Everything, everyone was animated, on the move, actively engaged in a vivid, moving drama.  It seemed that subtracting any muscle would have caused the collapse of the whole mass of people and object centering on the passive and immobile Jesus.  There were large swaths of colors surrounding the parlor of Jesus.  Another wonderful contrast of the artistic decision.  Rubens' figures were fully modeled and differentiated and characterized.  One felt that one could tell who they were and what they had done and what they were to become. 

There were some continuity between these two triptychs - both Jesus or Jesus and his throe cut across the enormous panels diagonally, adding the sense of dynamism.  Unsettled.  Dangerous.  The side panels of "Elevation" were the continuation of the central panel, sad and moving, while the side panels of "Descent", both calm and happy, described before and after Jesus's birth - the Visitation and the Presentation, adding poignancy to his agonizing death.

As a renown colorist, Rubens gave us a combustion of varied yet subtly harmonized colors.  The achievement of his through these two triptychs alone were monumental.



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My Favorite Sculpture and Painting at Church of Our Lady, Bruges

Bruges, Belgium, so-called Bruges-la-Morte, according to the novelist Georges Rodenbach, in reality was nothing but dead, particularly during its commercial height several hundreds years ago, when it was one of the most vibrant and presperous cities in the world.  It was during those golden years, Bruges acquired one of its most valuable treasures - a marble statue of Virgin and the Child by no other than Michelangelo, a centerpiece of the great cathedral of the city - Church of Our Lady, or Onthaalkerk Onze Lieve Vrouw Brugge, which became my favorite artwork from that cathedral during my visit in 2006.

This statue was brought back to to Bruges by its merchant during Michelangelo's life time - the only one left Italy had such distinction.  It was bought by Giovanni and Alessandro Moscheroni (Mouscron), from a family of wealthy cloth merchants in Bruges, for the price of 4,000 florin.  This piece, belonged to the subtle and/or subdued sculptures by Michelangelo, such as Pieta, David, versus others more energetically charged with tension, such as the Bound Slaves.  This Madonna was becalming, soothing and comforting, despite the sad fate awaiting on the mother and son.  The child, larger than normal, was thoughtful, vulnerable yet composed and even confident, seemingly only dependent out of courtesy to his mother.  Maria was serene and without much facial expression.  Nothing was stirred, no one was surprised.  There was a great simplicity to this marvelously modeled statue which was also deceptively simple looking.  Even the sea shell canopy was very subdued and humble, rendered the throne rather homey.  The mother and son were so softly sculpted and so real that one expected them to stretch and moved about from their time-imposed, several hundred years' immobility.


Madonna by Michelangelo
Source: ArtMechanic via Wikipedia

My second favorite work there was a triptych by an unknown artist, in the late-medieval fashion, with golden plate halos and golden border decorations, and in the style of Flemish Primitives, with the typical Flemish rural landscape and rigid or ornate figures in impossible contortions.  The most striking aspect of these panels were the rich colors the artist(s) employed.  Vivid, rich, sparkling and harmonious.  Old fashioned, in a most lovely and assertive way.  Unforgettable.


Deposition of the Cross; anonymous
United States public domain tag

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