Giuseppe de Ribeira, St. André, Royal Gallery of Belgium
Immerse yourself in the pentagonal city of Brussels, wandering the streets of the vast old town, and the feeling of relaxation cannot help but flood your heart. Climb the gentle hillside and take in the majestic 19th-century buildings with the afterglows of the 18th-century décor. The remains of the palace of Charles Alexander, Prince of Lorraine, are typical of 18th-century architecture; The palace gate is semicircular in shape, and although two new side towers were later built on either side of it, this Baroque entrance is easily recognizable. Not far behind the Art Hill, there is a supporting square, surrounded by museums; To be fair, the whole artistic hill is not really beautiful, because this masterpiece of the 60s of the 20th century does not show due respect to the architecture that remains at that time. Walk through the recently renovated Brussels Gardens and you'll be greeted by the solemn Museum of Ancient Art. Although the exterior of the museum is very simple, the color of the front is slightly gray, but the countless colors inside are intertwined and colliding, forming a huge contrast. Many lifelong masterpieces of Flemish and Dutch artists are displayed here, such as the smooth and flat 15th-century woodblock paintings, which resemble the appearance of glass; Rubens' heavy blocks and the bright colours of Jordans' artwork that attempt to break through the simplicity of the exhibition hall. On sunny days, the light from the museum's ceiling echoes it; But if the sky is gray, like the North Sea, which is shrouded in haze all year round not far away, the dazzling paintings in the museum will turn into warm rays of light that shine into the hearts of every visitor, cultivate their souls and make them feel as if they were dancing joyfully at Bruegel's carnival.
The Museum of Ancient Art in the Royal Gallery of Belgium is renowned worldwide for its rich collection of Flemish and Dutch art. Its emergence is closely related to the cultural policy of the time of Napoleon Bonaparte.
In 1794, France defeated Austria at the Battle of Fleulus and occupied Belgium. The French then began looting palaces and churches, looting hundreds of works of art from Brussels, mostly from the then repressed Catholic Church. In the same year, 270 of these artifacts were shipped to Paris to expand the Louvre's collection; Another part of the artifacts that remained in Brussels gathered into the original collection of today's Royal Gallery. Guillaume Jacques Joseph Boschalt, who was in charge at the time, read all the paintings in the city of Brussels at that time and selected more than 100 of the approximately 1,500 works to display in the Old Court. Today, we are fortunate enough to see such valuable artistic paintings as Rubens' "Pilgrimage of the Three Doctors" and "The Martyrdom of St. Leverus" in the corresponding exhibition halls of the museum, and we owe him a lot of credit.
With the fall of the Napoleonic dynasty, more than 100 of the 270 artistic treasures taken away were returned to Belgium. In 1835, Leopold I, then King of Belgium, issued a royal decree ordering the establishment of a museum; Seven years later, the museum was owned by the state. At that time, the acquisition of works of art was also increasing, including works such as Quentin Marcès' Triptych Altarpiece, Hans Memlin's The Martyrdom of San Sebastian, and Cornelis de Voss's Portrait of a Painter and His Family.
However, the exhibition halls in the old courthouse could not accommodate the large number of new art collections; Thus, in 1887, the entire art collection in the Old Court was moved to the Palace of Fine Arts, located on Regent Street. The palace was built in 1880 on the fifth anniversary of Belgium's independence; The designer's name was Alphonse Bharat, who was then an architect in the service of Leopold II. In the original concept, the simple and elegant building was not intended to be used as a museum, but as a venue for short-term exhibitions and concerts.
In 1964, as the collection grew richer, the idea of competing modern painting, sculpture and classical art was born. Then a major renovation and expansion project began in full swing. It was not until twenty years later, to the applause of the completion of the Museum of Modern Art, that the project came to an end. Designed by Roger Bastyne, the building is eight floors deep underground. Each basement floor is closely connected to each other, surrounded by a patio where sunlight pours down, and these basements do not feel incompatible with the previous buildings. Later, it was housed as the current turn-of-the-century museum.
Georges de la Tour, The Man Who Played the Ukulele, Royal Gallery of Fine Arts of Belgium
From the Royal Gallery of Belgian
Great museum
[Italy] Hippolytta Pasilli, editor-in-chief
Translated by Li Jintao
Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House Phoenix One Force
Highlight the masterpieces in the collection, light up the eyes of art
A heavyweight museum of fine arts in the capital of Europe
★ A great read to learn about the birth of great works and their creators
★ A series of works that integrate appreciation, popularization and fine evaluation
★ The best way to read Western art, select first-class art treasures, explain them well, and comment on them
★ Face art, say goodbye to seeing the liveliness, and appreciate the doorway
The "Great Museum" series of books was introduced from a well-known Italian art book publishing house. Each volume of the series introduces a museum, most of which are world-renowned pavilions with grand scale and treasures, as well as small pavilions with outstanding characteristics and exquisite collections, all of which are representative museums with a long history and a long history around the world. The book not only tells the history of the construction and development of the museum, but also displays its heirloom collection in categories, with clear pictures and insightful commentary, which is an excellent set of works that tell the beauty of color and text and guide readers to appreciate Western art.
About the author
Hippolytta Pasili holds an MA in Art History from Brown University and is a member of the Board of Directors and Manager of Copyright and International Business Development at La Scala Archives. She has curated and published several art books, such as Vasari's "Famous Artists in the Art Garden", "John Ruskin's Journey to Italy" and the "Great Museum" series.
About the translator
Li Jintao is a bachelor's student at Beijing University of Foreign Chinese, majoring in Italian. He studied abroad in Perugia and Rome, Italy. Part-time Italian teacher at Beijing Oriental International School. His translated works include the children's book "Learning to Waste Utilization" (unpublished) and the co-translated work "Animal Kingdom 11 - Invertebrates" (Foreign Research Agency).
Introduction to the content
Walk through the recently renovated Brussels Gardens, and you'll be greeted by the solemn branch of the Royal Gallery: the Museum of Ancient Art. Although the appearance is very simple, countless colors inside are intertwined and colliding. Many lifelong masterpieces of Flemish and Dutch artists are displayed here, such as the smooth and flat 15th-century woodblock paintings, which resemble the appearance of glass; Rubens' heavy blocks and the bright colours of Jordans' artwork that attempt to break through the simplicity of the exhibition hall. On sunny days, the light coming through the ceiling of the building echoes it; But if the sky is gray, like the North Sea, which is shrouded in haze all year round not far away, then the glorious paintings in the museum will turn into warm rays of light, shining into the hearts of every visitor, cultivating their souls and making them feel as if they were dancing joyfully at Bruegel's carnival.
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