Full text |
30 Route 3. BRUGES. S. W. Quarter:
above, P. Pourbus, Last Supper, 1562; farther on, the engraved
and enamelled brass of Josse de Damhoudere (1507-81) and his wife.
Cuorr. The high-altar dates from 1779, the choir-stalls from
1770; the armorial bearings above the choir-stalls serve as a me-
mento of the eleventh Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece,
held here in 1468 (comp. p. 27).
In the AmpuLATORY, beginning by the S. aisle: io the left,
Caravaggio (?), Christ at Emmaus (1604) ; ; J. van Oost the Elder,
Vision of St. ‘Rosalia, after Van Dyck’s painting in the Museum
at Vienna.
Then, in a closed chapel to the right, the *Tombs of Charles the
Bold (d. 1477), Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter Mary (d. 1482),
wife of the Emp. Maximilian, the last scions of the House of Bur-
gundy and of the native princes of the South Netherlands.
The lifesize recumbent figures of the duke and his daughter , in
copper, richly gilded, repose on marble sarcophagi; at the sides are the
enamelled armorial bearings of Burgundian duchies, counties, and baronies
The tomb of the Princess, in the Gothic style, and by far the more valu-
able as a work of art, was executed by Pieter de Beckere of Brussels in
1495-1502. The Duke’s tomb, an imitation of the other, was erected in
1559 by Philip I., a descendant of Charles the Bold, who is said to have
paid the sculptor Jonghelinck of Antwerp the then very large sum of
24,395 florins. The Emp. Charles V. had caused the remains of the duke,
his great-grandfather, to be conveyed hither from Nancy (1550). The tomb
of Charles bears his motto: ‘Je lay empris, bien en aviengne!’ (‘I have
made the venture; may it prosper!’). The sumptuousness of these tombs,
the historical associations attaching to the illustrious father and daughter,
and the touching story of the death of the latter in consequence of a fall
from her horse while hunting with her husband near Bruges, all combine
to render these monuments dee ply interesting. They were first erected
in the choir, and only since 1816 have they stood in this chapel, which
was originally dedicated to P. Lanchals, unjustly beheaded in 1488, whose
tombstone is still to be seen to the right of the entrance. The tombs
were restored in 1812-47.
This chapel contains also two wings of an altar, by P. Pourbus,
and other paintings.
3eyond the gaudily painted Chapel of the Sacrament (1863),
P. Pourbus, Triptych, Adoration of the Shepherds and donors (1574
closed). hen, above, a richly-carved Gothic pew in oak, of 1472
formerly the property of the family of Van der Gruuthuuse, with
whose house (p. 35) it was connected by a passage. Above, to the
right, G. de Crayer(?), Vision of St. Thomas Aquinas (1644) ; Jac.
van Oost the Elder, Triumph of the Church (1652), and (opposite)
Calling of Matthew (1640).
A gateway opposite the W. side of Notre Dame leads to the
Hospital of St. John (Pl. B, 6), which has existed since the 12th
century. The interesting sculptures above the walled-up gateway
to the left of the entrance date from the 43th century. Admission,
see p. 24; visitors ring the bell on the right of the entrance,
The hospital contains a number of **Pictures by Memling, which
alone would amply repay a visit to Bruges (comp. p.1). These are
preserved in the former chapter-room. |