Le plat pays

My first research trip of the year brings me the land of Tintin, moules frites, Jacques Brel and Hercule Poirot (naturellement). And more pertinently, Rubens, whose home city, Antwerp, contains the subject of my thesis, the Church of St Paul, formerly the Dominican Church. A quick and painless Eurostar journey brings me to my destination, Antwerp’s grandiose Centraal-Station, and my distinctively less impressive budget hotel round the back.

On Sunday I pack in as many historic churches as the brief window of 2-5pm allows, starting with the Pauluskerk. Its monumental Gothic spire towers over a slightly incongruous basketball court on approach; you can glimpse the River Scheldt just beyond.

Today’s visitor enters through an eighteenth-century courtyard, its operatic Calvary Garden resembling the stage set of Tosca (that is to say, the sequence of angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome, which Tosca jumps off).

The interior, a dazzling Rococo white, is festooned with decorative art and an impressive collection of paintings, not least the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary cycle with works by Rubens and the young Van Dyck and Jordaens.

A serviceable copy of Caravaggio’s Madonna of the Rosary, the original taken to Vienna by Joseph II of Austria in 1786, is displayed adjacent. Worse was yet to come: its prize Rubens altarpiece was plundered by the French Revolutionary Army (it resides in Lyon – stay tuned for more!); a Dutch gunpowder explosion in the 1830s shattered the original stained glass, and a fire in the 1960s gutted what was once the monastery complex.

Hanging elsewhere is a series commemorating the Battle of Lepanto’s centenary. 1572 was also the year of the current church’s foundation. The iconography of the Rosary, which won the battle and sent the Ottoman Turks into retreat (supposedly), was stamped all over the church from its inception. Not exactly the finest of its genre, but fascinating nonetheless.

Onward to the Cathedral, St Andrew’s Church, St James’s Church and St Carlo Borromeo’s Church. Then time for some well-earned sustenance at the Flemish pub Elfde Gebod. I think all that religious imagery is starting to affect my perception of reality.

It’s Monday and time for an all-day symposium at the Rubenianum, the world’s foremost resource for all things Rubens and a hub of scholarly activity. This one centres around the exhibition Divine Interiors at the Museum Mayer van den Bergh, the theme being early modern Flemish architectural painting, in particular church interiors. Lots of interesting lectures to enjoy and a chance to exercise my Dutch listening skills!

Handy tip: instead of making notes, bring a Dictaphone or otherwise record such lectures in audio, so you don’t miss a word. Unless the Dictaphone decides otherwise.

Next on my agenda: all the museums of Antwerp (or all that I can manage to see), then a good jolly around Brussels before jumping on the Eurostar back.