Royal Museums of Fine arts - Musees royaux des beaux arts de Belgique

Getting There
The Museums of Fine Arts is approximately a 600 yards (or 550m) walk from Brussels Centraal Station. From the train station leave the main exit (facing the Hilton hotel), turn sharply left onto Rue Infant Isabelle. Turn left, cross the road and walk under the arch called Mont des Arts. At the end of Mont des Arts turn right onto Coudenberg which runs onto Rue Montagne de la Cour. At the end of this street turn right onto Place Royal (which is a square) and head right where the main entrance to the Museum is to be found on Rue de la Regance. 

What to see and the history
The Museums of Fine Arts is split into four different sections; the old masters which focuses on art between 15th and 18th century, the Fine de Siecle which covers art disciplines between 1868 and 1914, the Magritte which is a focus on the artists life and contains many of his works and the Modern which is from the late 18th century onward. By far the most significant museums are the Old Masters museum and the Magritte. Below are the descriptions of some of the highlights of the Old Masters museum including; Lamentation by Rogier Van der Weyden, The Matyrdom of St Sebastian by Hans Memling, The Fall of Rebel Angels by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Bird Trap by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Numbering at Bethlehem by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Road to Calvary by Paul Rubens. 

Lamentation by Rogier Van der Weyden
After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and this picture shows John the Evangelist, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene mourning the loss of Jesus - the lamentation of Christ. The left of the picture shows John the Evangelist wearing a red robe. His right hand is supporting Jesus's upper body whilst his left is supporting the Virgin Mary. Jesus's body is resting on the knee of the Virgin Mary. Mary is supporting Jesus's head and presses her cheek against Jesus's face. At the feet of Christ is Mary Magdalene who is kneeling next to her attribute of an ointment pot. The skull by Jesus's right leg is a symbol of the location of this scene at Golgotha.       

The Matyrdom of St Sebastian by Hans Memling
St Sebastian was a captain of the Praetorian Guard and during Diocletian's persecutions in the third century assisted Christians.He was discovered and reported as a Christian in 286 but refused to abjure his faith. As depicted in the picture, his punishment as ordered by Emperor Diocletian was for St Sebastian to be tied to a tree in the Field of Mars and used as target practice by archers. His body was described as full of arrows as an urchin. The picture is set on a raised location with a medieval port city landscape. Behind the two archers, between the two rocks Diocletian is ordering the execution. The archer in the background has just shot his arrow whilst the archer closest to the viewer is just stretching his bow. Five arrows pierce St Sebastian though no suffering marks are present. Left to die, he survived due to the care of a widow, Irene. When he subsequently recovered he returned to the Imperial Palace to protest the cruel treatment of Christians. St Sebastian was arrested and sentenced to death in the Coliseum.       

The Fall of Rebel Angels by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The initial impact of the painting is a mix of different persons and creatures. In the background of the upper section of the painting the sky and sun emerge. Monsters appear on earth. St Michael who is in the centre of the picture with gold armour is leading the angels against the monsters and is striking a seven crowned dragon with a sword. The violence of the battle between them is mostly formed by the intensity of the monsters that are clustered in a significant proportion of the picture. The monsters are derived from nature such as mussel shells grafted onto a large shrimp, textures from lizards and aquatic animals, butterfly wings and a bird's neck. St Michael and his allies with long and refined silhouettes dressed in elegant robes represent good whereas in contrast, the monsters are painted in darker tones to represent evil.  

The Bird Trap by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The scene is set in a Brabant village with a city on the horizon. The season is winter as the lake is frozen, snow has fallen and the trees are without leaf. The picture was painted in 1565 which coincides with a harsh winter in Brabant. Whilst the painting my look like a winter landscape scene Bruegel the Elder maybe trying to convey a meaning related to human existence overcoming dangers. On the bottom right hand side of the picture a bird trap is visible representing enticement from the devil for careless souls, as birds are traditionally the symbol for the soul. Also, following this theme are the skaters on the frozen lake representing the sometimes slippery and unpredictable nature of existence.

The Numbering at Bethlehem by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The viewer is presented with a wide view of a village covered in snow with a large pond on the left, a ruined castle on the right and a church at the far top left of the picture. The inhabitants of the village are shown undertaking normal aspects of daily life such as constructing a cabin and sweeping the snow. Children are shown playing in the snow, skating and throwing snowballs. Well integrated into the many occurring activities in the painting are Mary and Joseph who have come to Bethlehem to sign the universal census as ordered by Emperor Augustus. The right hand of the inn shows a crowd outside the tax gatherers office whilst the left hand side shows the slaughter of a pig. The payment of tax relates to the Gospel account.

The Martyrdom of St Livinus by Paul Rubens
This picture originally hung at a Jesuit church in Ghent and was painted for the millennium of his martyrdom in 1633 . When this order was dissolved in the late 18th century the painting was purchased by Louis XVI of France and then joined the collection in Brussels after the French Revolution. St Livinus was the Bishop of Ghent having originated from Ireland and taught in England. The painting shows the rather gruesome details of the martyrdom of St Livinus who was tortured by pagans and included the removal of his tongue to prevent him preaching. The torturer near St Livinus's right arm is holding a blood splattered knife in his mouth that was used to remove his tongue. The saint's tongue is offered to the dog whilst held with a pair of tongs. St Livinus 's beard is being grabbed by another torturer whilst his robes are covered in blood. The top half of the painting represents heaven. St Livinus gains glory as represented by two cherubs on the left hand side of the painting holding a palm leaf and laurel crown. In the middle of the top half of the panel there are two angels, one of which is directing thunderbolts at the perpetrators as a form of retribution for the treatment of St Livinus.  

The Road to Calvary by Paul Rubens
This painting was commissioned for the high altar at the Abbey of Affligem in 1634. The picture shows Jesus carrying the wooden cross to Calvary on the outskirts of Jerusalem which is where Jesus is to be crucified. Threatening weather overshadows the event. Jesus is pictured with a crown of thorns and is struggling to carry the cross. Simon of Cyrene rushes to provide relief and help support the cross that Jesus is carrying. Saint Veronica is pictured wiping the sweat of Jesus's brow using her veil. Behind Veronica, is the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist. The Roman cavalry is pictured on horseback at the front of the convoy with flapping flags. At the bottom of the picture the good and bad thief who were crucified with Jesus are led by two helmeted soldiers. 

One Museum €8
Combi-ticket Magritte, Modern, Old Masters and Fine de Siecle €13
2for1 for Eurostar ticket holders (within 5 days of travel)

'Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium' elPadawan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

'Lamentation' by Rogier Van der Weyden

'The Martyrdom of St Sebastian' by Hans Memling

'The Fall of the Rebel Angels' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

'The Bird Trap' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

'The Numbering at Bethlehem' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

'The Marytrdom of St Livinus' Paul Rubens

'The Road to Calvary' by Paul Rubens