International studio (54.1914/1915)

Old Interiors in Belgium

OLD INTERIORS IN BEL¬
GIUM.
In a recent number of this magazine
illustrations were given of a few of the architectural
monuments forming part of the rich heritage of
artistic treasures which modern Belgium has re-
ceived from bygone generations. There was reason
to fear that some at least of these great master-
pieces of constructive art had already fallen a prey
to the shell fire of the invader who has so ruth-
lessly devastated this prosperous country, and in
the meantime the world has learned with infinite
regret that one of them—the magnificent Cloth
Hall at Ypres—has, with the Cathedral and other
precious relics of the past, by the same means been
destroyed or damaged beyond repair—that, in fact,
this old-world city, the pride of a nation which has
ever jealously guarded its historic edifices, has
become a city of desolation and ruin. Flanders
has in the course of its history been the scene of
many a hard-fought campaign, but never, perhaps,

since the country was overrun by the Northern
pirates fourteen centuries ago, has it suffered such
devastation as that which has been inflicted on it
by the armies of the self-styled “ Kulturvolk,”
with the approval of their commanders, of whom
one has publicly avowed his indifference to the
destruction of these ancient monuments.
The illustrations we now give of the interiors or
some of these historic buildings show that in the
decorative arts and handicrafts as well as in
structural architecture the forerunners of the Belgian
nation of to-day attained a mastery which can vie
with that of any of the European nations. They
have been selected from an extensive series of photo-
graphs taken by Mr. W. Sigling for Prof. Sluyter-
man’s folio “ Interieurs Anciens en Belgique,” the
publishers of which, Messrs. Martinus Nijhoff and
Co. of The Hague, have kindly permitted their
publication here. How many of these interiors
have escaped destruction it is impossible to say, but
there appears to be no doubt that the hall of the
University of Louvain shown below is now a ruin.


LOUVAIN : THE HALL OF THE UNIVERSITY. THIS EDIFICE WAS ERECTED EARLY IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY,
AND WAS ORIGINALLY THE CLOTH HALL (HALLE AUX DRAPS) OF THE TOWN, BUT FROM 1679 ONWARDS WAS
TAKEN OVER BY THE UNIVERSITY. ACCORDING TO REPORTS PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY PRESS THE BUILDING,
WITH ITS FAMOUS LIBRARY, HAS BEEN ENTIRELY DESTROYED BY THE GERMANS

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