In front of the Lodge is a statue of the painter Jan Van Eyck, who was born in Brugge in 1395. Before his death--also in Brugge--in 1441, Van Eyck helped establish the Flemish school of painting, which has traditionally been credited with making oil the standard medium for painting. Previously, tempera--which used egg yolks--had been the dominant medium. So you could say that oil painting was invented in Brugge.
These twin paintings illustrate the trial and execution of a corrupt judge. The town leaders in Brugge paid Gerard David to produce the painting, which they wanted to hang in Brugge’s City Hall. They hoped it would remind local judges of the importance of avoiding corruption.
The corrupt judge in question, Sisamnes, allegedly lived during the reign of Persian King
Cambyses the II, who ruled between 529 and 522 BCE. David emphasized the relevance of the story's moral lesson by dressing the people in
the painting in contemporary Flemish clothing. In the upper
left hand corner, he painted Brugge’s Burgher’s Lodge,
which we saw earlier in the day.
When Camyses learned
of the bribe Sisamnes took, he had Sisamnes skinned alive. He later used
Sisamnes’s skin to create a pillow that the new judge—Sisamnes’s son—would sit
on when court was in session.
The painting above is called "The Legend of St. Ursula" (1482) was painted for a convent in Brugge and it includes an image of the Brugge belfry. It is attributed to "The Master of the Legend of St. Ursula." In other words, nobody knows the name of the person who painted it.
According to legend, around the year 383, Ursula's father promised his daughter's hand in marriage to a pagan governor in Brittany. Ursula left Britain accompanied by 11,000 handmaidens. She persuaded Pope Siricus and the bishop of Ravenna to join them. So far, so good.
If you don't know the story, and you read the painting like a comic, going from left to right on the top row before moving to the bottom row, making up a story as you go, as some of us did, the third panel on the bottom row will come as a shock. When Ursula and her entourage of 11,002 came to Cologne, Germany, they found that it was besieged by Huns, who subsequently beheaded all the handmaidens, except for Ursula, who was killed by an arrow. So there. Avoid Huns. Enjoy your beautiful, beautiful xenophobia.
After we left the Groeninge Museum, we headed back to the hotel for lunch.
After we bought groceries for lunch, we passed a department store where I thought I might find a pocket knife to replace the knife I lost at the Eiffel Tower (pocket knives are especially useful when you're eating groceries in a hotel room). In the process, I temporarily misplaced Pablo. I told him to catch up with the rest of the RB5 and tell everyone to wait for me, but when I came out of the store with my knife, I could not find any of the RB4. These are the texts I sent:
2:10 pm: Where are you?2:14 pm: ???
2:18 pm: ????
2:20 pm: I am in front of the Belfry, where I told Pablo to tell you to wait.
2:21 pm: Markt. Location 20 on the map.
2:23 pm: I saw a pocket knife. I told Pablo to tell you to wait. I bought the pocket knife. I don't see you or Pablo.
2:29 pm: I'm going to the hotel.
Sadly, Mari didn't get my texts. Happily, everyone was at the hotel when I got there.
Side note: one of the best things about our trip to Europe was being liberated from screens (TV, cellphone, laptop) for 40 days.
After we ate lunch, the kids had another pool swim, and at 7, we went out for another walk. The grocery stores closed at 7:30, but we got to one just in time to buy the last baguette we needed.
Several gates surround the old city. This one, the Smedenpoort (Blacksmith's Gate), was originally built in 1297-1299, but don't be fooled into thinking that this is the age of the structure you see in the photo above. Like so many ancient European structures, a newer model was built on the remains of the original. This gate is such a structure. It only dates to 1367.
The Brugge Tourism bureau reports that "The bronze skull above the left passage recalls the execution of François Vander Straeten, who wanted to let hostile French troops into the city at the end of the 17th century. The severed head of this traitor was fixed to the gate." I didn't see the skull myself.
On Sint-Jakobstraat. That's Sint-Jakobskerk (St. James's) on the right. Founded in the middle of the 13th century, it was expanded to its current size in 1459.
Because Belgium loves fried potatoes (frietjes), I love Belgium. Pablo is with me on this.
They even have a Frietmuseum in Brugge, which Pablo wanted to visit.
We saw many fast-good shops in Brugge where frietjen are the featured item on the menu. They are traditionally served in paper cones.
The Belgians like their frietjen with sauces, as you can see from the menu on the right. I thought about trying the Stoofvleessaus (warm brown beer sauce), which looked like gravy, but I ended up ordering the "special sauce" instead. It turned out not to be so special, but I wouldn't mind trying all the sauces some day.
I dig a country where eating fries feels like cultural experimentation.
