We got up early and had breakfast - freshly baked croissants and rolls from a bakery just around the corner. Very wonderful! We decided to hit the Groeningemuseum first while the kids were fresh. We wandered our way down the Dijver where all the canal boats dock. Eliot and I liked this one with the flag clogs. We walked by the Rozenhoedkaai - rosiery quay.
The garden leading up to the museum was filled with nice marble sculptures. Eliot liked this peach one. The museum has works by the best Flemish artists. It has an exquisite exhibit of the Flemish Primitives: Jan Van Eyck, Rogier Van der Weyden, and Hans Memling. One highlight was Van Eyck's The Madonna with Canon George Van der Paele from 1436. His work is superb, the detail and colors amazing, especially the cloth detail. He's one of the first painters to use oil as a paint medium.
Once we finished at the museum, we walked over the picturesque Bonifacius Bridge (seemingly medieval but only from 1910) on our way to the Church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk). Eliot strikes a fancy pose in front of the Gruuthuse next to the church. Michelangelo's Madonna and Child is "the undisputed gem."
posted by Whitney @ 1:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home