“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré A chilling Inspector Maigret mystery set on the Belgian border “She wasn't an ordinary supplicant. She didn't lower her eyes. There was nothing humble about her bearing. She spoke frankly, looking straight ahead, as if to claim what was rightfully hers. ‘If you don't agree to look at our case, my parents and I will be lost, and it will be the most hateful legal error...’” Maigret is asked to the windswept, rainy border town of Givet by a young woman desperate to clear her family of murder. But their well-kept shop, the sleepy community and its raging river all hide their own mysteries.
This beautifully illustrated, expansive overview of Dutch and Flemish art during the 17th century illuminates the creative achievements of one of the most important eras in western art. The Golden Age in Holland and Flanders roughly spanned the 17th century and was a period of enormous advances in the fields of commerce, science--and art. Still lifes, landscape paintings, and romantic depictions of everyday life became valued by the increasingly wealthy merchant classes in the Dutch provinces, while religious and historic paintings as well as portraits continued to appeal to the Flemish patronage. The Golden Age brought us Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, and Van Dyck, but it was also the period of Frans Hals' revolutionary portraiture, Adriaen Brouwer's depictions of the working class at play, Jan Brueghel's velvety miniatures, and Hendrick Avercamp's lively winter landscapes. Norbert Wolf applies his vast understanding of the interplay between history, culture, and art to explore the forces that led to the Golden Age in Holland and Flanders and how this period influenced later generations of artists. Accompanied by luminous color illustrations, Wolf's accessible text considers the complex political, religious, social, and economic situation that led to newfound prosperity and, thus, to an enormous artistic output that we continue to marvel at and enjoy today.
This book presents the first anthology of Flemish prose on the Congo, the former colony of Belgium, in English translation. Because of the Dutch language barrier, Flemish literature on the Congo has traditionally remained inaccessible to and thus neglected by international scholarship, as opposed to French or English prose on this part of the African continent. That this particular perspective has thus far remained underexposed, or even disregarded, is all the more regrettable in light of the fact that the vast majority of Belgians who went to work in the African colony came from Flanders. The Congo in Flemish Literature now represents a key step towards filling this lacuna by providing an overview of the different societal attitudes towards the colonial undertaking prevailing in Belgium during and after the colonial era, the way the relationship between Belgium and the Congo changed over time, subject to the zeitgeist and sociopolitical and economic developments, and the individual authors' varying points of view with regard to the colonisation. Flemish Congo prose offers a fascinating glimpse into Belgium’s colonial past and legacy, primarily during the colonial era, but also at the time of its violent aftermath following Congolese independence on 30 June 1960, and well into the following decades.
The word ""Flemish"" refers to the people living in the North of Belgium and France and the South of the Netherlands. The Flemish, also called ""Flemings,"" are of Germanic (Frank) origin. When the Franks invaded what is now Belgium, they settled between the sea and the ""charcoal forest,"" a dense old-growth forest of beech and oak, which extended to the Rhine and formed a natural boundary during the Late Iron Age through Roman times into the Early Middle Ages. The county of Flanders was created 864 when the French king Charles the Bald granted it as a fief to his son-in-law Baldwin with the Iron Arm. Flanders was a part of France but distinguished itself from the rest of the country with its Germanic Flemish population and close economic ties to England. Unlike other French fiefs it was never returned to the French king's control, instead Flanders became a part of the duke of Burgundy's possessions in 1384, which would evolve into present day Belgium.
Five centuries ago, Bruges was home to the Flemish Primitives. At the time, Bruges was one of the most important cities in Europe: an international centre of trade and meeting place for foreign merchants. It is this medieval Bruges through which we are guided by Till-Holger Borchert, director of the Bruges Museums. The wealth of the city and its art-loving inhabitants attracted dozens of artists. The pioneers among the socalled Flemish Primitives - Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Dieric Bouts, Hugo van der Goes and Gerard David - developed a new style of painting over the course of the fifteenth century that would make its influence felt as far as southern Europe. Although many of their paintings now hang among the masterpieces of the world's most prominent museums, Bruges was nevertheless able to hold on to a number of dazzling specimens of its owns heritage. This book allows you to take that heritage home. It is the perfect introduction for those who would like to become better acquainted with the artistic Bruges of the fifteenth centyury, as well as a splendid souvenir for anyone who has admired the Flemish Primitives in the city's main museums. Revised edition in a new layout
The Harold Samuel Art Collection is a unique collection of 17th-century paintings from the Golden Age of Holland. Bequeathed to the City of London in 1987 by Lord Harold Samuel of Wych Cross, a wealthy property developer and entrepreneur, this remarkable collection of 84 works - the best collection of Dutch a nd Flemish art in Britain - enriches the splendor of the interior of the Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of London. The Merry Lute Player by Frans Hals is perhaps the best known picture in the collection, but Samuel also gathered truly outstanding examples of genre painting, indeed several of the finest works in existence by Nicolaes Maes, Jacob Ochtervelt, Adriaen van Ostade and Jan Steen. Eleven winter landscapes include such masterpieces as Hendrick Avercamp's large copper panel depicting a frozen river, and amongst the archtypical Dutch panoramas are exceptional works by masters of the genre, Philips Koninck and Jacob von Ruisdael.
“A sleek, sophisticated, madly clever chamber mystery” from the international bestselling author—the basis for the film Uncovered starring Kate Beckinsale (The New York Times Book Review). A fifteenth-century painting by a Flemish master is about to be auctioned when Julia, a young art restorer, discovers a peculiar inscription hidden in a corner: Who killed the knight? In the painting, the Duke of Flanders and his knight are locked in a game of chess, and a dark lady lurks mysteriously in the background. Julia is determined to solve the five-hundred-year-old murder, but as she begins to look for clues, several of her friends in the art world are brutally murdered in quick succession. Messages left with the bodies suggest a crucial connection between the chess game in the painting, the knight’s murder, the sordid underside of the contemporary art world, and the latest deaths. Just when all of the players in the mystery seem to be pawns themselves, events race toward a shocking conclusion. A thriller like no other, The Flanders Panel presents a tantalizing puzzle for any connoisseur of mystery, chess, art, and history. “A beguiling puzzle—a game within a game within a game—solved in perplexing but entertaining fashion.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “For mystery fans who yearn for literate, intelligent, sophisticated whodunits, Spanish author Pérez-Reverte’s highly acclaimed story fills the bill perfectly . . . An inventive plot, gripping suspense, fascinatingly complex characters, and innovative incorporation of art, literature, and music will enthrall readers looking for something a little different.”—Booklist “This intelligent mystery . . . comes up with a satisfying twist at the end.”—Library Journal
The Flemish economy is extremely diversified with a number of value-added industries and a highly skilled workforce. The shift to a green economy will however require specific knowledge, values and attitudes from the Flemish workforce.
