Table of Contents| Quick Index: | Prehistoric | Roman | Romanesque | Gothic | 15th century | 16th century |17th century | 18th century | 19th century | 20th century | American Architecture | Architecture links | Fine Arts department home page
Antwerp
Jan Appelmans: Onze Lieve Vrouw (Notre Dame), 1352-1411. West front was built between 1422-74; and the 400' tower was completed in 1518. Spire by Domien de Waghemakere, Antoon Keldermans II, and Rombout Keldermans between 1508-18.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One of the most impressive churches in Belgium, Onze Lieve Vrouw (Notre Dame) in Antwerp was designed by Jan Appelmans, who is also known as Jean Amel de Boulogne. It is a very large church, with a broad central nave flanked with three aisles on each side. These aisles are so spacious that it is almost as if the church had seven naves. The church is 384 feet long, and 171 feet wide; the transepts are 213 feet wide. The interior height is 131 feet. 125 pillars support the church. The main body of the church was constructed between 1352 and 1411. The west front was built between 1422-74; and the 400' tower was completed in 1518. The octagonal portion of the tower was designed by Herman de Waghemakere, and built between 1501-1507. The spire at the top of the tower was built by Domien de Waghemakere, Antoon Keldermans II, and Rombout Keldermans between 1508-18. The uppermost, and latest parts of the tower are in a much more ornate decorated Flambuoyant style.
Commercial Buildings - Guild Houses, Antwerp, late 16th century.
Guilds were a fundamental element of economic life, and in each town in Flanders the major guilds competed to create the most impressive structure for their organization. They typically followed the designs of domestic architecture, with perhaps more ornament and a larger scale.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Guild Houses on the main square in Antwerp are modeled on domestic architecture. Most of them were built c. 1580. They reflect the tradition of building in wood with their use of stone to imitate wooden pillars and beams. Although still basically late Gothic, there are some classical details found on the facades. The period of Gothic unity is past, but it has not been replaced by a classical harmony. The group of guild houses on this square is characterized by its variety; each facade strives to be different in height and rhythm. The guild houses feature extensive use of glass, with many windows to let in the maximum amount of light.
City Hall
Cornelis Floris: Town Hall, Antwerp, 1561-65
|
|
|
|
|
|
The town hall of Antwerp, designed by Cornelis Floris, was a monument of the new status of the city, and the first major Italianate building in the region. The overall composition of the building is symmetrical, with careful and elegant proportions to the facade. In its design, Floris has modeled the town hall on an Italian palazzo. The ground floor of the building is a rough basement foundation, above which are three more refined stories. It has a broad hipped roof, which avoids the stepped gables of the earlier Flemish style, and stresses the horizontal unity of the building. The central pavilion extends slightly from the plane of the wall, and is elaborated with five stories of classical columns and sculpture. The town hall is a large building: the facade is 256 feet wide and 112 feet high; the center pavilion is 184 feet high.
After completion of this town hall, political and religious wars almost completely halted all building activity in Antwerp and the rest of Flanders until the early seventeenth century. The town hall was damaged in a great fire in 1576 in the Spanish Fury; only the outer walls were left standing. It was rebuilt after 1579, however. In 1882-1891 the building was extensively restored, and the interior completely changed. Extensive cycles of romantic history paintings by Hendrik Leys and other were added.
photos by J. Howe
|
|
|
|
Boston College
Jeffery Howe, 1997
