| View of Brussels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | c. 1665 |
| Dimensions | 169 cm (67 in) × 301.5 cm (118.7 in) |
| Location | Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium |
| Collection | King Baudouin Foundation  |
| Accession No. | KBS-FRB 0002 |
The View of Brussels is a painting by Jan Baptist Bonnecroy. It shows a panoramic view of the City of Brussels in the 17th century.
The work was painted by Jan Baptist Bonnecroy, a Flemish painter from Antwerp, circa 1664–65. [1] It belonged to the Dukes of Arenberg. [2]
Around 1960, the painting was sold by Engelbert-Charles d'Arenberg to a New York art dealer, who sent it to the United States. [2] [3]
In 1990, the King Baudouin Foundation's Heritage Fund was able to purchase the painting and return it to Belgium. The work has been entrusted, on long-term loan, to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. [2] [3] [4]
The painting shows a bird's eye view of the City of Brussels. It is painted looking down from an imaginary height in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. [2] [5] in the north-west of the city. Bonnecroy would have been unable to see the city from this aerial perspective, proving that he worked in total liberty. He accentuated various buildings in the city, taking inspiration from local land surveys and printed maps. [1]
A number of buildings in the painting can be identified, notably within the inner ring around the Pentagon of the old city. Amongst the buildings represented can be seen: [2]
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region, located less than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south. Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. Nowadays, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the majority language and lingua franca. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken widely and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages as well.
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean or Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated by the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, as well as by the municipalities of Anderlecht, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Dilbeek, Jette, and Koekelberg. The Molenbeek brook, from which it takes its name, flows through the municipality. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
Bernard van Orley, also called Barend or Barent van Orley, Bernaert van Orley or Barend van Brussel, was a versatile Flemish artist and representative of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, who was equally active as a designer of tapestries and, at the end of his life, stained glass. Although he never visited Italy, he belongs to the group of Italianizing Flemish painters called the Romanists, who were influenced by Italian Renaissance painting, in his case especially by Raphael.
Ixelles or Elsene is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, Etterbeek, Forest, Uccle, Saint-Gilles and Watermael-Boitsfort.
The Fortifications of Brussels refers to the medieval city walls that surrounded Brussels, Belgium, built primarily to defend the city but also for administrative reasons. There were two stages of fortifications of Brussels: the first walls, built in the early 13th century, and the second walls, built in the late 14th century and later upgraded. In the 19th century, the second walls were torn down and replaced with the Small Ring, a series of boulevards bounding the historical city centre. Nowadays, only a few sections of each walls remain, most notably the Halle Gate.
Pieter Bout was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and etcher. He is known mainly for his landscapes, city, coast and country views and architectural scenes painted in a style reminiscent of earlier Flemish masters such as Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Daniel van Heil or Daniël van Heil was a Flemish Baroque landscape painter. He specialised in three types of landscapes: scenes with fire, landscapes with ruins and winter landscapes.
Jan Baptist van Heil or Jan Baptiste van Heil, was a Flemish Baroque painter of portraits and religious paintings.
Theodoor van Heil, was a Flemish landscape painter known for his winter landscapes, city views and scenes of burning cities.
Ferdinand de Braekeleer, sometimes spelled as Ferdinand de Braeckeleer, was a Flemish painter and printmaker. He is known for his paintings of genre scenes, church interiors, historic events, religious scenes, cityscapes, market scenes and market still lifes. He is called 'the Elder' to distinguish him from his son with the same name, who was also a painter.
The following is a timeline of the history of Brussels, Belgium.
The Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon, or the Church of Our Lady of the Sablon, is a Catholic church in the Sablon/Zavel district of Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Sablon.
Erasmus de Bie (1629–1675) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for his city views and genre scenes. He depicted several lively scenes of large public celebrations in his hometown of Antwerp. It is not clear whether the views of Italianate cities and landscapes attributed to him are the work of Adriaen de Bie, a Flemish painter from Lier who worked in Italy for a while.
Jan Anton van der Baren was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, priest and museum curator active in Brussels and Vienna. He specialised in still lifes of flowers and vegetables, some of which include an architectural background. He held the offices of court chaplain and director of the picture gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Emperor Leopold I.
Jan Baptist Bonnecroy or Jean Baptiste Bonnecroy was a Flemish painter and engraver known for his large panoramic city views and marine paintings.
The Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is the primatial see of Belgium and the centre of the ecclesiastical province governed by the Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium. It was formed in 1559 and the bishop has a seat in two cathedrals, St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. The current archbishop is Luc Terlinden, who was installed in September 2023.
The Church of St. John the Baptist is a Catholic parish church in the centre of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of Molenbeek.
Andreas Martin or Andreas Marten was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He is known for his imaginary landscape paintings, topographical landscapes, cityscapes of Brussels and its environs and rural genre scenes. He lived and worked in Brussels.
The following is a timeline of the history of Brussels, Belgium, in the 19th century.