The memorials of the days of splendour are many in this city of the past. The cathedral is not of the finest Gothic work externally, but it is rich in monuments, and lavishly decorated within. Its earlier portions date from the twelfth century, the fine nave is of a later period. The pictures are not of much importance.
Notre Dame has a lofty spire, and many interesting details will be found in its architecture of the early and the later Gothic periods. One of the chapels contains the tombs of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, Mary. The images are in copper, and recumbent on marble.
Memories of Charles the Bold crowd into the mind as we stand before his effigy. His vast ambition led him into rash adventures, and his career, if brilliant, was also tragic in its failures. Charles would have made Burgundy a kingdom, but he lacked the essentials of a conqueror, in spite of his courage. His rapacity was a drain on the resources of the Netherlands; his love of power made him an oppressor, and caused discontent and rebellion. Through his want of the true kingly qualities he brought disaster upon the country, and destroyed the peace of the small republics.
In his forty-fourth year, in 1477, he died, leaving his people impoverished, and the industries decaying. His realm was given into the charge of his daughter, Mary, who married the Emperor Maximilian.
The monument of Mary of Burgundy is an example of the work of De Beckere, an eminent sculptor. A painting by Porbus of “The Crucifixion and Last Supper” is in this church. The carved pulpit is a good specimen of this Flemish craft.
The Town Hall and Palace of Justice contain several important pictures, and both buildings are architecturally instinctive; the former is very highly decorated Gothic, with a fine façade, and several statues of the Flemish counts. There is a library in the town hall with a beautiful roof. Here are some missals and manuscripts, and a large collection of books.
The Palace of Justice has been restored, but parts of the older building remain. It has a spacious hall, and an elaborate fireplace, with statues of some of the rulers of Burgundy.
La Chapelle du Saint Sang is finely decorated, and has an ancient crypt, containing early treasures.
We must now visit the academy of painting, and inspect the pictures, though not without regret that there are so few works of the illustrious artists of Bruges, the brothers Van Eyck, in the collection. There is, however, one of J. Van Eyck’s greatest pictures in the academy. This is the famous “Portrait of his Wife,” a rarely finished piece of work, with a singular history, for it was found in one of the markets of Bruges, thickly coated with filth. The permanent quality of the colour used by the Flemish artists of this period is instanced in the case of this portrait, which has been most successfully cleaned. The tints are in splendid preservation.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the art of Flanders flourished, and the brothers Van Eyck were the pioneers of oil painting. Many painters had tried oil as a medium, but none succeeded till Hubert and Jan Van Eyck discovered a suitable oil. Working with this new medium, they produced wonderfully durable pictures. It is supposed that the medium was a mixture of oils and resin, which dried rapidly. The colours of our modern artists cannot compare with those of the old Flemish school in respect to durability, which is seen in some of the works of the Victorian period in England.