BOOK IV.BELGIUM AND HOLLAND.

CHAPTER I.

CONTENTS.

Historical Notice—Old Churches—Cathedral of Tournay—Antwerp—St. Jacques at Liège.

Thelittle kingdom of Belgium forms an architectural province as distinct and in many respects as interesting as any in Europe. Its style does not, it is true, possess that simplicity combined with grandeur which characterises the one great united effort of Central France, but it is more varied and picturesque, and as fully expressive of the affinities and aspirations of the people.

As we may learn from their language, the dominant race during the Middle Ages spoke a dialect very closely allied to the pure German, which proclaimed their affinity to their neighbours on the Rhine; but what their architecture tells us, though their language does not, is that there was a very strong infusion of Celtic blood in their veins which expresses itself in almost every building they erected.

Shortly after the departure of the Romans the German immigrants seem to have completely overpowered the original Belgæ, and, like true Aryans, to have divided themselves into a number of separate and independent municipalities, with no established capital and acknowledging no central authority. At times these communities did submit themselves to the rule of Dukes and Counts, but only to a very limited extent; and for particular purposes they occasionally even sought the protection of some powerful monarch; but they never relinquished their right of self-government nor fell under the power of feudal chiefs, or of a dominant hierarchy, to the same extent as prevailed throughout nearly the whole of the rest of Europe. This spirit of independence was sustained throughout the Middle Ages by the immense extension of commercial industry which the fortunateposition of Belgium, combined with the energy of her inhabitants, enabled her to develope. While the rest of Europe was engaged in feudal wars and profitless crusades, the peaceful burghers of the Belgian cities were quietly amassing that wealth which gave them individually such importance as free citizens of independent communities, and raised their towns, and eventually their country, to the state of prosperity it maintained till the destruction of their liberties by the Spaniards in the 16th century.

These historical circumstances go far to explain the peculiar character observable in the architectural remains of this country, in which we find no trace of any combined national effort. Even the epoch of Charlemagne passed over this province without leaving any impress on the face of the country, nor are there any buildings that can be said to have been called into existence by his influence and power. The great churches of Belgium seem, on the contrary, to have been raised by the individual exertions of the separate cities in which they are found, on a scale commensurate with their several requirements. The same spontaneous impulse gave rise to the town-halls and domestic edifices, which present so peculiar and fascinating an aspect of picturesque irregularity.

Even the devastation by the Normans in the 9th and 10th centuries seems to have passed more lightly over this country than any other in the North of Europe. They burned and destroyed indeed many of the more flourishing cities, but they did not occupy them, and when they were gone the inhabitants returned, rebuilt their habitations, and resumed their habits of patient self-supporting labour; and when these inroads ceased there was nothing to stop the onward career of the most industrious and commercial community then established in Europe.

In a historical point of view the series of buildings is in some respects even more complete than the wonderful group we have just passed in review in France. In size, the cathedrals of Belgium are at least equal to those that have just been described. In general interest, no cathedral of France exceeds that of Tournay, none in gorgeousness that of Antwerp; and few surpass even those of Louvain, Mechlin, Mons, Bruges and Ghent. Notwithstanding their magnificence, however, it must be confessed that the Belgian cathedrals fail in all the higher requisites of architectural design when compared with those on the southern border. This was owing partly to the art never having been in the hands of a thoroughly organised and educated body of clergy like that of France, but more to the ethnographic difference of race, which in the first place prevented centralisation, and also rendered them less keen in their appreciation of art, and less influenced by its merits. From these and other causes, their ecclesiastical buildings do not display that elegance of proportion, andthat beauty of well-considered and appropriate detail, which everywhere please and satisfy the mind in contemplating the cathedrals of France.

These remarks apply solely to ecclesiastical art. In specimens of the civil and domestic architecture of the Middle Ages, Belgium surpasses all the other countries of Europe, on this side of the Alps, put together. Her town-halls and markets, and the residences of her burghers, still display a degree of taste and elegance unsurpassed by anything of the age, and remain to this day the best index of the wealth and independence of the communities to which they belonged.

All this is of course only what might be expected from what we know of the ethnographic relations of the people. An Aryan race, loving independence, cultivating self-government, and steadily following those courses which lead to material well-being and wealth; and underlying these a Celtic race, turbulent at times, loving art, appreciating its beauties, and clothing the municipal requirements with the picturesque graces of architectural design.

The difference between this country and Central France appears to be that in the latter country the Celtic element was in excess of the Aryan, while in Belgium this condition was reversed, and this at least is precisely what we find expressed in her art.

Of the oldest churches of Belgium, a large proportion are known to us only by tradition, they having been pulled down to make way for the larger and more splendid buildings which were demanded by the continually increasing wealth and population of the cities. Of those which remain, one of the oldest and most interesting is that of St. Vincent at Soignies, built in 965 by Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, and though probably not quite finished within that century, it still retains the features of the 10th century more completely than almost any church in Europe. This church, that of St. Michele at Pavia, and the Minster at Zurich, constitute a trio very similar to one another in design and in size, and differing principally in the degree of finish they display, this being by far the rudest in construction of the three. It possessed originally a western tower and a central lantern, the upper parts of both which are modernised. The east end was square, though possessing a shrine, the tomb of the saint whose name it bears. It may have been altered, and is built up on the outside so as to render examination impossible.

Another church, only slightly more modern, that of St. Gertrude at Nivelles (Woodcut No.674), presents the same peculiarity, of having a square termination towards the east, though it seems originally to have had an apse at the west end, where the façade was carried up to a considerable height, and adorned in the centre by asquare tower flanked by a circular one on each side. The latter retain their original form, though the central tower was rebuilt in the 15th century. This church was built in the earliest years of the 11th century, and was dedicated in 1045, the Emperor Henry IV. assisting at the ceremony. It is a first-class church with two transepts, and remains externally in all essential particulars as then built. The interior was entirely destroyed in the middle of the last century, which is a very great loss, although the new arrangement which has replaced it is in itself remarkably well designed.

674. View of West End of Church at Nivelles. (From a sketch by the Author.)

Passing over some minor examples, we come to the cathedral of Tournay, to the architect and artist the most interesting of the province. It is a first-class cathedral, more than 400 ft. in length internally, and covering with its dependencies an area of 62,525 sq. ft. It consists of a nave, dedicated in 1066; of a transept, built about the year 1146; the choir, which formed part of this arrangement, was dedicated in 1213, but gave place about a century afterwards to that now standing, which was dedicated in 1338, so that within itself it contains a complete history of the style; and though there is no doubt considerable incongruity in the three specimens here brought together, as they are the best of their respective classes in Belgium, the effect is not unpleasing, and their arrangement fortunate, inasmuch as, entering by the western door, you pass first through the massive architecture of the 11th to the bolder and more expanded features of the 12th century, a fitting vestibule to the exaggerated forms which prevailed during the 14th. In the woodcut (No.676) the three styles are represented as they stand; but it would require far more elaborate illustration to do justice to the beauty of the deeply galleried nave, which surpasses any specimen of Norman architecture, but which is here eclipsed by the two remaining apses of the transept. These, notwithstanding a certain rudeness of detail, are certainly the finest productions of their age, and are as magnificentpieces of architecture as can be conceived. The choir is the least satisfactory part of the whole; for though displaying a certain beauty of proportion, and the most undoubted daring of construction, its effect is frail and weak in the extreme. Still, if the tracery were restored to the windows, and these filled with painted glass, great part of this defect might be removed. At the best, the chief merit of this choir is its clever and daring construction, but even in this the builder miscalculated his own strength, for it was found necessary to double the thickness of all the piers after they were first erected. This addition would have been an improvement if it had been part of the original design, but as it now is it appears only to betray the weakness which it was meant to conceal.

675. Plan of Cathedral at Tournay. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

It is by no means clear that originally there were any entrances at the west front; at least there certainly was no central doorway; and probably the principal entrances were, as in most German churches, under lateral porches.

Externally, the west front had neither the flanking towers of the Norman church, nor the frontispiece usual in Germany, but terminated in a gable the height of the wooden roof of the nave. The original church was triapsal, and a large square tower adorned the intersection of the nave and transept, which was originally surrounded by six tall square towers, two belonging to each of the apses. Four of these still exist, and with the remaining part of the central tower form as noble a group as is to be found in any church of this province. In its triapsal state, its superior dimensions and the greater height of its towers must have rendered it a more striking building than even the Apostles’ Church at Cologne, or indeed any other church of its age.

Besides the churches already described, there are a considerable number in Belgium belonging to the 11th century, such as St. Bartholomew at Liège; St. Servin’s, Maestricht; the church at Ruremonde (almost an exact counterpart of the Apostles’ Church at Cologne), and others of more or less importance scattered over the country. They almost all possess the peculiarity of having no entrance in their west fronts, but have instead a massive screen or frontispiece surmounted by two or three towers. This was the arrangement of the old church of St. Jacques at Liège. The church of Notre Dame de Maestricht presents a somewhat exaggerated example of this description of front (Woodcut No.677). It is difficult to explain the origin of this feature, nor have we any reason to regret its abandonment. There can be no doubt that the proper place for the principal entrance to a church is the end opposite the altar, where this screen prevented its being placed.

676. Section of Central Portion of Church at Tournay, looking South. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.

677. West Front of Notre Dame de Maestricht. (From Schayes’ ‘Belgium.’)

Among the smaller antiquities of this age, none are perhaps more interesting than the little chapel of St. Sang, at Bruges, built by Thierry of Alsace, on his return from the Holy Land,A.D.1150; it is asmall double chapel, of a form very common in Germany, but less ornate than these generally were. At one angle of it are two spires, represented in Woodcut No.678; the more slender of these would not excite remark if found in Cairo or Aleppo, so exactly does it take the Eastern form; the other, on the contrary, seems to belong to the 16th or 17th century: it is only one, however, of the numerous instances that go to prove how completely art returned, at the period called the Renaissance, to the point from which it started some four or five centuries earlier. It returned with something more of purity of detail and better construction, but unfortunately without that propriety of design and grandeur of conception which mark even the rude buildings of the firstnaissanceof Gothic art.

678. Spire of the Chapel of St. Sang, Bruges. (From a Sketch by the Author.)

679. Window in Church at Villers, near Genappe. (From a Sketch by the Author.)

Belgium is rich in small specimens of transitional architecture, and few of her more extensive ecclesiastical establishments are without some features of this class, often of great beauty. Their age has not yet, however, been determined with anything like precision by the Belgian antiquaries; but on the whole, it seems that in this, as in most other respects, this country followed the German much more closely than the French type, hesitating long before it adopted the pointed arch, and clinging to circular forms long after it had been employed elsewhere, oscillating between the two in a manner very puzzling, and rendering more care necessary in determining dates than in most other parts of Europe. Besides this, none of the Belgian buildings have yet been edited in such a manner as to afford materials for the establishment of any certain rule. Perhaps the most interesting specimen of the transitional period, and certainly one of the most beautiful ruins in the country, is the abbey church of Villers, near Genappe, a building 338 ft. in length by 67 in width, built with all the purity of what we would call the Early English style, but with a degree of experimental imperfection in thetracery of which I hardly know an example elsewhere. The representation given above (Woodcut No.679) of one of the windows of the transept will explain this; throughout it the tracery consists of holes cut into slabs; yet this church is said to have been commenced in 1240, and only finished in 1276. In Germany such a date would be probable; in France a similar specimen would be assigned to a period from 70 to 100 years earlier.

Among the many efforts made in Belgium to get rid of the awkwardness of the pointed form for windows was that in the choir of Notre Dame de la Chapelle, at Brussels (begun 1216), where the circular tracery is inserted in a circular-headed window, producing a much more pleasing effect, both internally and externally, than the pointed form, except with reference to the vault, with which it is so little in accordance that the experiment seems to have been abandoned, and no attempt made afterwards to renew it.

Besides those already mentioned, Belgium possesses about twenty first-class churches of pointed architecture, all deserving attentive consideration, some of them being almost unrivalled edifices of their class. Among the earliest of these is the cathedral of Liège, begun in 1280, exhibiting the style in great purity. It has no western entrance, but, like St. Croix, St. Jacques, and all the principal churches of this city, is entered by side porches.

A little later we have the eastern parts of St. Gudule, Brussels (A.D.1220-1273), and two other very beautiful churches: Notre Dame de Tongres (1240), and St. Martin, Ypres (1232-70). The latter is perhaps the purest and best specimen of the Gothic of the 13th century in Flanders; and of about the same age is the beautiful church of N. D. de Dinant. These are almost the only important specimens of the contemporary art of the 13th century which still excite our admiration in all the principal cities of France. Almost all the great cathedrals in that country belong to this age, which was also so prolific of great buildings in England. But Belgium does not seem to have shared to any great extent in the impulse then given to church architecture. Her buildings are spread pretty evenly over the whole period from the 10th to the 16th century, as the steadily growing wealth of the country demanded them, and but little influenced by the great political oscillations of her neighbours. In the next century we have N. D. de Huy (1311), the beautiful parish church at Aerschot (1337), and N. D. de Hal (1341)—small but elegant places of worship. The two crowning examples, however, of this age are N. D. of Antwerp (1352-1411), and St. Rombaut, Malines. The choir of this latter church was dedicated in the year 1366, having been commenced about the same time as that at Antwerp, but the nave was not erected till a century afterwards (1456-1464), and the tower was not carried even to its present height till the 16th century.

Antwerp cathedral is one of the most remarkable churches in Europe, being 390 ft. long by 170 in width inside the nave, and covering rather more than 70,000 sq. ft. As will be seen by the plan (Woodcut No.680), it is divided into seven aisles, which gives a vast intricacy and picturesqueness to the perspective; but there is a want of harmony among the parts, and of subordination and proportion, sadly destructive of true architectural effect; so that, notwithstanding its size, it looks much smaller internally than many of the French cathedrals of far smaller dimensions. If the length of the nave had been divided into ten bays instead of only six, and the central aisle had been at least 10 ft. wider, which space could easily have been spared from the outer one, the apparent size of the church would have been greatly increased; but besides this, it wants height, and its details show a decadence which nothing can redeem.

680. Plan of the Cathedral at Antwerp. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

Its magnificent portal, with its one finished tower 406 ft. in height, was commenced in 1422, but only finished in 1518, and is more in accordance with the taste of the 16th century than of the original design. Although from the lateness of its date it is impossible to be satisfied either with the outline or the detail, it is still so gorgeous a specimen of art, and towers so nobly over the buildings of the city, as to extort our admiration, and a man must have very little feeling for the poetry of art who can stop to criticise it too closely.

The spire at Chartres (Woodcut No.627) is more elegant in outline, but the design of its base does not accord with that of the upper part, and its effect is injured by the great height of the building to which it is attached. That at Strasburg is very inferior in outline, so is St. Stephen’s at Vienna, and it is not quite clear that the open-work spires of Freiburg and Cologne are not mistakes. The base ofthe Antwerp spire is perfect in proportion and good in detail; the caprice begins only when near the top, where it constructively can do no harm, and is much less offensive than it would be lower down. Itcannot perfect, but taking it altogether it is perhaps the most beautiful thing of its kind in Europe.

It is a great question if the second spire, were it completed as originally designed, would add to, or detract from, the beauty of the composition. An unfinished design is always unpleasing, but, on the whole, twin spires, without a very prominent central object, do not seem a pleasing form of design.

The church of St. Rombaut at Malines, though very much smaller than that at Antwerp, being only 300 ft. in length internally, and, including the tower, only 385 ft. over all externally, is still a far more satisfactory church in every respect. Indeed, it is one of the finest of those which have round pillars in the nave instead of the clustered columns which give such beauty and such meaning to most of the churches of this age. It was originally designed to have one western spire, which, if completed, would have risen to the height of nearly 550 English feet. It was never carried higher than to the commencement of the spire, 320 ft., and at that height it now remains. Even as it is, it is one of the noblest erections of the Middle Ages, the immense depth of its buttresses and the boldness of its outline giving it a character seldom surpassed.

St. Pierre’s, of Louvain, is a worthy rival of these two; for though perhaps a century more modern, or nearly so, it seems to have been built at once on a uniform and well-digested plan, which gives to the whole building a congruity which goes far to redeem the defects in its details. The façade, which would have rendered it the noblest building of the three, has never been completed. It was designed on the true German principle of a great western screen, surmounted by three spires, the central one 535 ft. in height, the other two 430 ft. each.[50]

Where sufficient width can be obtained, this seems a legitimate and pleasing form of composition. Twin towers like those at Cologne or like those designed for Strasburg and Antwerp, would overpower any church, and are wanting in variety. Two small towers, with one taller between, is a more pleasing composition, though equally destructive to the effect of the building behind. The English plan of three spires, as at Lichfield, is by far the most pleasing arrangement; but this form the continental architects never attempted on an extensive scale, and consequently the single spire, as at Malines or Ulm, is perhaps the mostsatisfactory solution of the difficulty. If not that, then the triple-spired façade designed for Louvain would probably be the best.

Those above enumerated are certainly the finest specimens of Belgian ecclesiastical art. Almost all the churches erected afterwards, though some of them very beautiful, are characterised by the elaborate weakness of their age. Among these may be mentioned St. Gommaire at Lierre, commencedA.D.1425, but not completed till nearly a century afterwards; and St. Jacques at Antwerp, a large and gorgeous church, possessing size and proportion worthy of the best age, but still unsatisfactory, from the absence of anything like true art or design pervading it. The same remarks do not apply to St. Waudru at Mons, 1450-1528, one of the very best specimens of its age—pleasing in proportion and elegant in detail. Internally a charming effect of polychromy is produced by the cold blue colour of the stone, contrasted with the red-brick filling-in of the vault; this contrast being evidently a part of the original design. By some singular freak of destiny it has escaped whitewash, so that we have here one instance at least of atruemode of decoration, and to a certain extent a very good one. The exterior of this church is also extremely pleasing for its age. Its tower and spire are unfortunately among those that we know only from the original drawings, which are still preserved, and show a very beautiful design.

681. Plan of St. Jacques, Liège. (From Weale’s ‘Architectural Papers.’) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

Of about the same age (1522-1558) is St. Jacques at Liège (Woodcut No.681), a church of the second class in point of size, being only 254 ft. in length internally, by 92 ft. across the nave. At the west end it still retains the screen of the old church, marked darker on the plan. The principal entrance is a splendid porch of flamboyant design on the north. The east end may be said to be a compromise between the French and German methods, for it is not a true chevet, inasmuch as it has not the circumscribing aisle, while its circlet of chapels prevents its being considered as a German apse. Altogether the plan is characteristic of its locality on the borders of France and Germany, for in it we find mixed together most of the peculiarities of both countries. For its age too the details are generally good, but as construction was no longer the ruling motive, confusion is the result. The most remarkable thing about the church is, that it is one of the very fewchurches in Europe which retain their polychromatic decorations in anything like completeness, especially on the roof. The paintings, however, are of late date, bordering on the cinque-cento period; yet the effect produced, though gorgeous, is remarkably pleasing and beautiful, and is in itself sufficient to set at rest the question as to the expediency of painting the vaults of churches, or leaving them plain. My own conviction is, that all French vaults were once painted to as great an extent as in this case. Our English architects often probably depended only on form and carving for effect, but on the Continent it was otherwise.

Of the remaining churches, St. Bavon’s at Ghent, and St. Martin’s at Liège, both commenced, as they now stand, in the middle of the 16th century, are among the most remarkable, and for their age are wonderfully free from any traces of the Renaissance. At the same age in France, or even in England, they would have been Italianised to a far greater extent.

There is scarcely a second-rate town or even a village in Belgium that does not possess a church of more or less importance of the Gothic age, or one at all events possessing some fragment or detail worthy of attentive study. This circumstance is easily explained from the fact that during the whole of the Mediæval period, from the 10th to the 16th century, Belgium was rich and prosperous, and since that time till the present comparatively so poor as to have had neither ambition to destroy nor power to rebuild. Considering its extent, the country is indubitably richer in monuments than France, or perhaps than any other country in Europe; but the architecture is neither so good or satisfactory nor of so high a class.

Back to Index Next