This week, I'll be posting my accounts of a recent trip to three cities in the Low Countries: Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Brussels.
I started out early on Friday with a visit to Rubenshuis, the home and atelier of gloriously talented painter Paul Rubens. It had beautifully restored, and offered an intriguing glimpse into the life of an art history giant. I especially liked visiting his studio and the gallery, a sizable section of the house that was devoted to displaying the work of his friends and contemporaries.
From there, I walked over to 't Zuid (The South), to visit the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp). The work of Flemish painters active in the 15th and 16th centuries is bold and unexpectedly vivid, and it's easy to see where 20th century Surrealists could have drawn inspiration. Several large works by Rubens were extraordinarily affecting in their technique and subjects and several feet tall.
The museum labels were in Flemish, but I learned quite a bit just looking around. The work of Surrealist Paul Delvaux and Expressionist Rik Wouters are seldom seen in the United States and interesting, especially that of the former. From there I went to the Fotomuseum, which, besides being well-curated and designed, has an excellent cafe that was flooded with natural light when I was there. Also, the food was that rare balance of beauty: decadently good and relatively inexpensive. I had the pannekoek met vanille-ijs en chocoladesaus (more or less a crepe with ice cream and chocolate), and a milky cappuchino, although be aware that it is sometimes the custom to omit the foam and substitute it with whipped cream, a concept that I find personally disgusting. There was an exhibition of photojournalism on and I enjoyed seeing a photo of the Antwerp Six as well as other notable moments in recent Belgian history.
The next museum I visited was Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, aka MuHKA (The Museum of Contemporary Art). The main show was devoted to "Emotions," and it was probably my favorite temporary exhibition that I saw during my trip. Overall, I thought the mixed-media collection of diverse work was very good, but I had a few favorite pieces, such as the video art by Mark Lewis, where he stands in a crowd of anonymous passers-by while enthusiastically pitching a movie with "just extras." It's a funny and touching appreciation of humanity.
From 't Zuid, I walked up to St. Andries and did some window-shopping at the exquisite outposts of Ann Demeulemeester, Veronique Branquinho, Walter, and other shops like Louis and stops here and there along Kamenstraat. I stopped in the Copyright bookshop at The Mode Museum aka MoMu (The Fashion Museum) and purchased the Antwerp Fashion Walk guide, which was invaluable.
I whiled away Friday afternoon criss-crossing St. Andries in that manner (note: If you're short on cash, start at Labels, Inc. which sells "recent designer" clothing; I saw a couple of Marni dresses with the tags still on for 100 euros) and went to Frituur No. 1 again, by now on rather intimate terms with its charms, and also bought some diamond-shaped chocolates at Burie ("...for chocoholics who love diamonds"; check). Later on that evening, I went to Cafe Berlin, just a short walk from the B&B at which I was staying (by now seeming rather bohemian, even for my taste).
I enjoyed a pleasant meal of steak frites and local beer and savored the buzzing yet unpretentious atmosphere. Several people rode up on motorbikes and came in to join friends. I liked how each table had a red gerbera daisy in a green bottle and overhead spotlighting. Combined with the rustic/modern black and tan decor, the overall effect was dramatic and sophisticated albeit in an understated way.
The architecture in Antwerp is very beautiful, with uncluttered facades and formal lines. Tall buildings, 4 or 5 stories, with elegant proportions line well-laid out streets (with the exception of the old section of the city, which has narrow, windy streets that are less rational in design). Nonetheless, imaginative details abound, like the small statue of a jovial seated man on the side of one building, into whose hands someone had recently stuffed a real newspaper with pages fluttering in the wind.
It's a city that's also very clearly near the water, and ships and boating clearly have a place in the heart of the city, whose fortune was built on its port. I am still in awe of the strikingly original style there; the buzz on the street felt deafeningly glamourous without being showy at all, and nearly every aspect of the city influences or intimates minimalist chic and its best.
Saturday morning, I planned a full day in Antwerp, beginning with a visit to MoMu (I had only gone in the bookstore the day before) and Onze Lieve Vrouwekathedraal (The Cathedral of Our Lady). However, I started feeling more melancholy by the moment at the thought of leaving such a smart, vibrant place that I had only just begun to discover. I decided, then, to leave those last two sights unseen until next time (undoubtedly soon), and head down to Brussels.
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