The Future is More

 't Zand, pre-demolition
 

I had to go to the Oogkliniek, the Eye Clinic, last Monday for an annual check-up and was desolated to see heavy equipment and workmen busy dismantling 't Zand. All the trees have gone, work is beginning on dismantling the majestic fountain and, with the looks of it, the bus shelters too. The Stadhuis has decided a make-over is needed and it causes one to wonder that they don't see the irony of imposing unnecessary destruction and renovation on a beautifully-preserved mediaeval town which, in late mediaeval times, became too poor to have unnecessary municipal demolition and renewal foisted upon it and so kept its original beauty. From discussions and overheard remarks, I doubt the sweeping changes are by popular request. It is not the first time that I have remarked to myself that the Civic Authority here simply has too much money available so spends some of it on these vanity projects. Why, the Burgemeester was asking for suggestions during the summer as to where

 Suggested 'Makeover'

to re-site the huge fountain group of bronze figures. Since beginning this blog and the above complaint, I have discovered that the planned cost of the new 't Zand is 9 million euros. Words almost fail me. 
 

Rant over and back to Art! Yesterday, for the first time I went to Leuven to visit M-Museum to catch the exhibition The Future is More. Sub-headed In Search of Utopia, it celebrates my historical hero, Sir Thomas More, and specifically, the publication of his amazingly influential masterpiece, Utopia, printed in Leuven in 1516. There were several volumes on view, a first edition from Leuven and third editions from Paris [1517]. Utopia is contained in an unexpectedly small volume but its mediaeval beauty shines out. The main room was devoted entirely to More through books, pamphlets, portraits, but there were several other rooms with tapestries, artefacts, astrolabes and globes, charts and a few sculptures which set the context of his known world for he was a much-travelled diplomat and regal representative.

 Frontispiece of Utopia with its map of the island
and the Utopian alphabet, designed by More's good
friend, Pieter Gillis.

 

More chose Leuven for the printing probably through his great friend, Erasmus of Rotterdam [1466-1536] who lived in Leuven at that time when he was Counsellor to Emperor Charles V. More and Erasmus had met in England in 1499 during their law studies and remained great friends until More's premature death in 1535. Leuven itself was an important centre of learning with its university founded in 1425 while Erasmus was working to found the Trilingual College, which opened in 1517 in Leuven, offering Hebrew, Latin and Greek. A prestigious place for More's Utopia to begin life. The printer, Dirk Maertens, had his business opposite the University Halls, and he and Erasmus enjoyed good relations. Undoubtedly Erasmus was also instrumental in the choice of printer for More's masterpiece. The exhibition describes it as a 'best seller'. The Leuven first edition in Latin was re-printed five times in the three years subsequent to its publication; by 1750 there had been over fifty re-prints and translations.

Famous portrait of Thomas More by
Hans Holbein the Younger
Copy in the Leuven exhibition is
borrowed from the collection of
Queen Elizabeth of Britain.

In the main exhibition room hung the famous Holbein portrait of Thomas; in fact, it is one of many copies as the original hangs in the Frick Museum in New York. The English Convent in Carmersstraat in Brugge, also has a copy brought there by Mary More, Thomas's eighth blood descendant, when she joined the Convent as a novice in the early 1750s. She was elected Prioress in 1766. Her family Holbein copy is considered one of the treasures of the English Convent.

Utopia heralded a new era in 15^th and 16^th century thought. More wrote the book in despair at the corruption and monarchical misrule in England during his life; he conjured up an imaginary island, Utopia, where joy and justice reigned. More's dream of an ideal world, outlined in the portrayal of his perfect island, included free education, democracy, euthanasia, married priests,
care for the elderly and equal opportunities for men and women. Five hundred years ago this remarkable philosopher and humanist imagined aspects of life which are highly relevant today.

FOOTNOTE

The name of More's good friend, Pieter Gillis, spelled originally in this blog as Peter Giles, was copied by me from the exhibition programme in the Anglicised way. An indignant Belgian friend originating from Antwerp, Gillis' birthplace too, sent me the correct version of Pieter's name. The historical novel, 'De verloren droom van Pieter Gillis' by Joris Tulkens, describes Gillis's friendship not only with More but also with Desiderius Erasmus, William Tyndale, Quinten Metsys, Albrecht Durer and Cornelius Grapheus, all great early 16th century humanists. Apologies for the gross error, Willy! Do hope the honour of Antwerp and its famous sons, is now restored.

Breakfast at Blackbird

 

 Inspiring example of photography near the Minnewater.
Enlarged, this image has splendid views of airborne birds,
alas, almost invisible on this scale.
The dramatic clouds would not disgrace Constable!



Happy New Year
 The Rozenhoedkaai Canal, beloved of tourists, and with the wonderful festive 'fruit' of
lighted globes in the tree leaning over the canal.

 Breakfast at Blackbird

A lovely first week of the year with Alain visiting from Cologne for a few days and life in my flat as charmed as ever. Alain is a musician, teacher, composer, choirmaster and also by chance, an admirer of both Brugge and my apartment. He is only 41 but it already planning, when the time comes, to retire to Brugge which he loves! We had a memorable breakfast at Blackbird this morning, [Thursday] and yesterday visited the Groeninghe Museum to see the exhibition on Justice, de Kunst van het Rechts. Luc accompanied us to act as guide and though the exhibition was interesting and informative, there was little great art to stir the blood. Immediately we finished the Justice exhibition, we found ourselves in the middle of some of the Groeninghe's great treasures, the Flemish Primitives, where the art DID appeal so the Memlings and Jan Van Eycks were seized, almost subliminally, with both eyes and hands and the one heart. Masterpieces to touch the soul for sure.
 

 The reference to Churchill below, triggered
the memory that in the late forties
he indulged his hobby of painting,
in Brugge.

I was impressed with Alain's photographs of which he took many; they were so creative and special and I privately resolved to Try Harder with my own photographs. I have taken virtually none for weeks, even over Christmas; a certain lethargy seems to have seized me over marshalling the camera's focus and my own. Even when several of my English-speaking group drove to Blankenberge to visit a sick friend and member, I didn't get out my camera, leaving it to someone else to take some delightful shots and send them on to the rest of us. Seasonal Affective Laziness [S.A.L.] perhaps or Temporary Photographic Block [T.P.B. to the cognoscenti].

 

And now it is January 8, and overnight have arrived several little tranches of Alain's photographs which are magical. He has threatened to send ALL that he took, well over 1000 which might be too much of a good thing for my time and energy to deal with. [Every time I finish a sentence with a preposition, I flash back to Churchill's admonition re prepositions: 'This is something up with which I will not put.' referring, of course, to the sin of  placing prepositions last in the sentence.] I absolutely must include some of Alain's photographs in this blog; after all, I write about Brugge and its delights and his images are exceptional. There are, in fact, two images of his, heading this blog with more to come!

Here is one black and white of the view taken from the grassy mound below one of the windmills on Kruisvest ; it is mysterious, reminiscent of Bruges la Morte, and giving the photographic impression of an earlier period.


 The Belfort to the right photographed from a distance away.
Cannot decide definitively which are the other two spires!

A curvilinear view of one of the windmills,
strangely denuded of tourists.















All photographs this week taken by
Alain Gehring
except the one from the Churchill archive.


 

Before I finish, must mention a delightful concert last evening under the series heading of Podium voor Passie. A young Ukrainian pianist, Inna Shyshkovska, played music by Ravel, Beethoven, Chopin; I am no judge but she was fluid and passionate and so involved that her total disconnect when she stood up to acknowledge the audience applause, was unexpected. She gave a little nod, almost a smile and moved away; it was as if she had never before performed in public and was unsure of what to do. Unexpected but her music was lyrical. She is a Master in Music from Gent Conservatorium and has taught for the last five and a half years in various Flemish towns, including Brugge. A gifted musician.

And so back to Alain's photographs:


 A favourite, canal-side, mediaeval house with wooden façade
near the St Bonifacius Bridge.