Saint Bavo Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Saint Bavo
Saint Bavo of Ghent is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint.-Life:Bavo was born near Liège, Belgium, to a Frankish noble family that gave him the name Allowin...
of Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
.
The building is based upon the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, a primarily wooden construction; it was consecrated in 942 by Transmarus, Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. Traces of this original structure are evident in the cathedral's crypt.
The chapel was subsequently expanded in the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style in 1038. Some traces of this phase of expansion are still evident in the present day crypt.
In the subsequent period from the 14th through 16th centuries, nearly continuous expansion projects in the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style were executed on the structure. A new choir, radiating chapels, expansions of the transepts, a Chapterhouse, nave aisles and a single tower western section were all added during this period. Construction was considered complete June 7, 1569.
In 1539, as a result of the rebellion against Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, the old Abbey of St. Bavo was dissolved. Its abbot and monks went on to become canons in a Chapter that was attached to what then became the Church of Saint Bavo. When the Diocese of Ghent was founded in 1559, the church became its Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. The church of Saint Bavo was also the site of the baptism of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
.
Artwork
The cathedral is noted for the Ghent AltarpieceGhent Altarpiece
The Ghent Altarpiece or Adoration of the Mystic Lamb is a very large and complex Early Netherlandish polyptych panel painting which is considered to be one of Belgium's masterpieces and one of the world's treasures.It was once in the Joost Vijdt chapel at Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium, but...
, originally in its Joost Vijd chapel. It is formally known as: The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert
Hubert van Eyck
Hubert van Eyck was a Flemish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck. He was probably born in Maaseik, Flanders, now in Belgium....
and Jan
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
van Eyck
Van Eyck
Van Eyck , also Van Eijk is a Dutch surname meaning "of Eyck" or "of Eijk"...
. This work is considered Van Eyck's masterpiece and one of the most important works of the early Northern Renaissance, as well as one of the greatest artistic masterpieces of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Several of the painting's wings were bought in 1816 by the English collector in Berlin, Edward Solly
Edward Solly
Edward Walter Solly was an English cricketer who played eight first-class games for Worcestershire as a professional between 1903 and 1907....
. They were bought in 1821 by the King of Prussia, Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
and continued to be kept in Germany. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, other panels were taken from the cathedral by Germany. As part of mandated compensation in the Versailles Treaty after the end of the war, Germany returned the pilfered panels along with the original panels that had been legitimately bought by Solly, to help compensate for other German "acts of destruction" during the war.
The Germans "bitterly resented the loss of the panels", and at the start of another conflict with Germany in 1940, a decision was made in Belgium to send the painting to the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
to keep it safe. The painting was en route to the Vatican, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, when Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
declared war as an Axis power
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
alongside Germany. The painting was stored in a museum in Pau for the duration of the war, as French, Belgian and German military representatives signed an agreement which required the consent of all three before the masterpiece could be moved. In 1942, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
ordered the painting to be seized and brought to Germany to be stored in a Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n castle. After Allied air raids made the castle too dangerous for the painting, it was stored in a salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
mine. Belgian and French authorities protested the seizing of the painting, and the head of the German army's Art Protection Unit was dismissed after he disagreed with the seizure.
The cathedral is home to the work of another artist of note: Saint Bavo enters the Convent at Ghent by Peter Paul Rubens.
Burials
- Cornelius JansenCornelius Jansen (1510-1576)Cornelius Jansen, the Elder was a Catholic exegete.-Life:...
(1510-1576), first Bishop of Ghent (1565-1576) - Karl vanden Bosch, Bishop of Ghent
- Karl-Justus Calewaert (1893-1963), 27th Bishop of Ghent (1948-1963).
- Prince Ferdinand Marie de Lobkowitz (1726-1795) Bishop of Ghent, 1779-1795.
- Jan de Smet, Bishop of Ghent
- Jan van de VeldeJan van de VeldeJan van de Velde the younger was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver of animal, landscape and still-life subjects. He was the son of Jan van de Velde the Elder and the father of the still life painter Jan Jansz van de Velde.-Biography:Van de Velde was born in either Delft or Rotterdam...
(1779-1838), 20th Bishop of Ghent. - Gerard van Eersel (d. 1778), Bishop of Ghent
- Ignaz Augustus Schetz van Grobbendonck (1625-1680), 11th Bishop of Ghent (1679-1680)
- Michelle of ValoisMichelle of ValoisMichelle of France was a Duchess consort of Burgundy. She was a daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt...
, Duchess of Burgundy