what I did on my winter holiday, part 2: Antwerp fly-through

[abendgules]

Mon 16 Nov: lie in, as much as one can when staying at the home of two active children. Midmorning we set off to Bruges, with a stop in Antwerp to see the cathedral.
Somehow, having grown very accustomed to English Reformation history, I had not realised that Antwerp, and indeed much of Belgium, remained Catholic. It may have experienced the Reformation as much of Europe did, but also got a solid dose of Counter-reformation afterward.
So much of the architecture and artwork we saw in Antwerp and in Bruges was firmly Catholic, even though most of my brain now associates 'cathedral' with 'Church of England'.
In the Antwerp Cathedral, we were fortunate enough to catch the second half of an English tour of the building, and specifically the artwork of Reubens. I hadn't realised he was one of the banner-wavers of the early 17th century, and of the Counter-reformation.
Our guide was terrific at explaining how Reubens fits into the development of post-period art: what makes him different from his predecessors, and distinctive in the art world. He had a firm grasp of the history of the cathedral itself, even of its time spent as a stable for Napoleonic forces' horses.
He showed us the earliest stained glass in the cathedral: a huge side piece, dedicated to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, and to the Duke and Mary of Burgundy, from the English wool merchants working in Antwerp, to commemmorate their rulers setting up a trade agreement between England and Burgundy, that made the merchants rich and suitably grateful. The 'English chapel' area was still painted with crossbows and other symbols for St. Sebastian, their patron saint.
I always treasure people who are passionate about what they know, and have a gift for explaining its subtleties: even watching sports is more entertaining when you know what skills and strategies to look for. This guide was clearly a Reubens devotee, describing him as 'avant-garde' for his time, and he highlighted the pieces' strengths (the dynamic movement in his images, the figures gazing outward drawing viewers in, Reubens circumventing counter-reformation strictures on depictions of Christ).
He wrapped up by saying, 'Every time I come here, I still find something new in this painting.' If only every art collection could have such a committed interpreter!