Saint Bavo's Cathedral | |
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Sint Baafskathedraal | |
![]() West facade | |
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51°03′11″N3°43′37″E / 51.0530°N 3.727°E | |
Location | Ghent |
Country | Belgium |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | sintbaafskathedraal.be |
Architecture | |
Style | Gothic |
Years built | 13th–16th centuries |
Groundbreaking | c. 1274 |
Specifications | |
Spire height | 89 metres (292 ft) |
Bells | 7 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Ghent |
Parish | Saint John the Baptist |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Lode Van Hecke |
Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral (Dutch : Sint Baafskathedraal), is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Ghent, Belgium. The 89-meter-tall Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent. It contains the well-known Ghent Altarpiece .
The cathedral stands on the site of the former Chapel of St. John the Baptist, which was primarily of wooden construction and was consecrated in 942 by Transmarus, Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. Traces of a later Romanesque structure can be found in the cathedral's crypt. [1] Construction of the Gothic church began around 1274.
In the subsequent period from the 14th through 16th centuries, nearly continuous expansion projects in the Gothic style were executed on the structure. A new choir, radiating chapels, expansions of the transepts, a chapter house, nave aisles and a single-tower western section were all added.
In 1539, as a result of the rebellion against Charles V, who was baptized in the church, the old Abbey of St. Bavo was dissolved. Its abbot and monks went on to become canons in a Chapter that was attached to what then became the Church of Saint Bavo. When the Diocese of Ghent was founded in 1559, the church became its cathedral. Construction was considered complete on 7 June 1569.
In the summer of 1566, bands of Calvinist iconoclasts visited Catholic churches in the Netherlands, shattering stained-glass windows, smashing statues, and destroying paintings and other artworks they perceived as idolatrous. [2] However, the altarpiece by the Van Eycks was saved.
The cathedral is noted for the Ghent Altarpiece , originally in the Joost Vijd Chapel. It is formally known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb after its lower centre panel by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. This work is considered Van Eyck's masterpiece and one of the most important works of the early Northern Renaissance, as well as one of the greatest artistic masterpieces of Belgium. [3] Part of the painting, the lowermost left panel known as The Just Judges , was stolen in 1934 and has not been recovered. It has since been replaced with a facsimile by Jef Van der Veken.
The cathedral is home to the works of other artists of note. It holds the painting Saint Bavo enters the Convent at Ghent by Peter Paul Rubens. There are also works by or after Lucas de Heere, one of which is a View of Gent. Frans Pourbus the Elder painted 14 panels representing the History of Saint Andrew (1572) and a Triptych of Viglius Aytta (1571). Caspar de Crayer is represented by paintings of St Macarius of Gent, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara. The church also holds works by Antoon van den Heuvel including the Christ and the Adulterous Woman and the Resurrection of Christ. There are also works by Lucas van Uden and Jan van Cleef. [4]
Local Ghent painter Petrus Norbertus van Reysschoot painted a series of 11 grisailles, which decorate the choir of the cathedral, above the stalls. Five of these panels represent scenes from the Old Testament while the other six episodes from the New Testament. These paintings were placed in the cathedral between 1789 and 1791. [5]
The cathedral has four organs for use at liturgical celebrations. [6] Most famous is the main organ in the Upper church, the biggest organ in the Benelux. In 1935 Mgr Coppieters commanded that the Klais organ from the world exhibition would be put inside the cathedral. The organ case dates from the 18th century and the complete organ has more than 6000 pipes inside. It has 5 manuals. [7]
The most impressive part is the high choir with stalls for the members of the Chapter of Saint-Bavon. The episcopal throne is located on the right side with the episcopal arms visible. Highlights of the interior decoration of the choir include the Baroque high altar (1702–1782), in white, black, and red flamed marble, and the tomb monuments of Ghent bishops, including that of Antonius Triest, in white and black marble (1652–1654), a major work of Jerôme Duquesnoy (II). On the right side is the gallery with painted crests of the members of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
In the choir is the 1559 painting The Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon by the Flemish artist Lucas de Heere. This allegorical work depicts King Solomon as Philip II of Spain, recognizable by his facial features, receiving gifts from the Queen of Sheba, an allegory of the Low Countries, representing that country donating its riches to the Spanish king in thanks for his prudent government.
In the nave we find an impressive rococo pulpit (1741–1745), made in oak, gilded wood and white and black marble by Laurent Delvaux, with wrought-iron railings by J. Arens. There are also chairs designed by the contemporary designer Maarten Van Severen. The main altar is placed between the nave and the choir.
In the Chapel of the Holiest an important Calvary Triptych is on display. This 15th-century work is attributed to Justus van Gent. Finally, there is a valuable collection of important liturgical plates, reliquaries, and liturgical vessels dating from the 15th century onward. Among the important reliquaries are the head of Saint John the Baptist and of Saint Macarius. The important collection of hand-embroidered and brocaded liturgical ornaments is widely known as one of the most important of the country, some of which are put on display.
Still today the chapter is housed inside the cathedral, since its foundation. Members have been important prelates and members of noble houses. Today Jozef De Kesel is one of the honorary canons. The chapters of Haarlem and Ghent are united in friendship. Weekly the canons sing Mass with the bishop.
Ghent is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, after Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city.
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. According to Vasari and other art historians including Ernst Gombrich, he invented oil painting, though most now regard that claim as an oversimplification.
Hubert van Eyck or Huybrecht van Eyck was an Early Netherlandish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck, as well as Lambert and Margareta, also painters. The absence of any single work that he can clearly be said to have completed continues to make an assessment of his achievement highly uncertain, although for centuries he had the reputation of being an outstanding founding artist of Early Netherlandish painting.
An altarpiece is an work of art in painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, or a set of them, the word can also be used of the whole ensemble behind an altar, otherwise known as a reredos, including what is often an elaborate frame for the central image or images. Altarpieces were one of the most important products of Christian art especially from the late Middle Ages to the era of Baroque painting.
The Ghent Altarpiece, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it is attributed to the Early Netherlandish painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The altarpiece is considered a masterpiece of European art and one of the world's treasures, it was "the first major oil painting", and it marked the transition from Middle Age to Renaissance art.
The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves as the main cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam.
The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.
The Cathedral of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos.
The Catedral de la Asunción de la Virgen, popularly known as New Cathedral is, together with the Old Cathedral, one of the two cathedrals of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. It is the seat of the diocese of Salamanca. It was constructed between 1533 and 1733 mixing late Gothic, Plateresque and Baroque styles. It was commissioned by Ferdinand V of Castile. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Spain in size and its bell tower, at 92 meters high, is also one of the tallest.
St. Nicholas Church is one of the oldest and most prominent landmarks in Ghent, Belgium. Begun in the early 13th century as a replacement for an earlier Romanesque church, construction continued through the rest of the century in the local Scheldt Gothic style. Typical of this style is the use of blue-gray stone from the Tournai area, the single large tower above the crossing, and the slender turrets at the building's corners.
Saint Michael's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Ghent, Belgium built in a late Gothic style. It is known for its rich interior decoration.
The Primatial Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, otherwise known as Toledo Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church in Toledo, Spain. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toledo.
Madonna in the Church is a small oil panel by the early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. Probably executed between c. 1438–1440, it depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus in a Gothic cathedral. Mary is presented as Queen of Heaven wearing a jewel-studded crown, cradling a playful child Christ who gazes at her and grips the neckline of her red dress in a manner that recalls the 13th-century Byzantine tradition of the Eleusa icon. Tracery in the arch at the rear of the nave contains wooden carvings depicting episodes from Mary's life, while a faux bois sculpture in a niche shows her holding the child in a similar pose. Erwin Panofsky sees the painting composed as if the main figures in the panel are intended to be the sculptures come to life. In a doorway to the right, two angels sing psalms from a hymn book. Like other Byzantine depictions of the Madonna, van Eyck depicts a monumental Mary, unrealistically large compared to her surroundings. The panel contains closely observed beams of light flooding through the cathedral's windows. It illuminates the interior before culminating in two pools on the floor. The light has symbolic significance, alluding simultaneously to Mary's virginal purity and God's ethereal presence.
St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located at the Veemarkt in Antwerp, Belgium. Its exterior is mainly Gothic with a Baroque tower while the interior is characterised by its rich Baroque decoration. It holds paintings by Antwerp's leading artists Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens as well as abundant sculpture and church furniture crafted by leading Antwerp sculptors such as Artus Quellinus the Elder, Pieter Verbrugghen I, Jan Pieter van Baurscheit de Elder, Jan Claudius de Cock and Andries Colyns de Nole. Of particular note is the Calvary outside the Church which is made up of 63 life-size statues and nine reliefs executed in a popular and theatrical style.
The Conversion of Saint Bavo is an altarpiece by Peter Paul Rubens, dated 1623–1624. It was commissioned as the high altarpiece for Sint-Baafskathedraal in Ghent by bishop Antoon Triest (1577–1657). It is still sited in the cathedral. An oil sketch for it is now in the National Gallery, London.
The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of Ghent, Belgium.
Honoré Jozef Coppieters was a Belgian prelate who became, in 1927, the Bishop of Ghent.
Petrus Johannes van Reysschoot or Pieter van Reysschoot was a Flemish painter and printmaker who is known for his genre scenes, hunting scenes, landscapes, portraits and Christian religious subjects. He spent a large part of his career in England, which earned him the nickname den Engelschman. In England he painted history and sporting scenes and was a portrait painter working on commissions particularly from the Midlands gentry.
Petrus Norbertus van Reysschoot or Pieter Norbert van Reysschoot was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, decorator, educator and art collector. He spent his career in Ghent. He is known for his decorative projects in local residences and churches and in particular his grisaille paintings. His subject matter ranged from landscapes, allegories, mythological and religious stories, genre scenes and trompe-l'œil still lifes.
Norbertus van den Eynde (I), Norbrecht van den Eynde and Norbert van den Eynde (also spelled: Norbertus van den Eynden, Norbert van den Eynden, and Norbertus van den Eynden) (Antwerp, baptized 11 December 1628 – Antwerp, 7 October 1704) was a Flemish sculptor. He is mainly known for his religious sculptures and church furniture. He was the son of the prominent sculptor Huibrecht van den Eynde and a member of the van den Eynde family of sculptors. Van den Eynde was a close associate of Artus Quellinus II. He undertook several commission in the Antwerp Cathedral, including several altarpieces.