{"id":3101,"date":"2024-06-19T16:17:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T14:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rubens-antwerpen.be\/home\/centre\/our-ladys-cathedral\/antoon-van-dyck-what-if\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T17:06:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T15:06:46","slug":"antoon-van-dyck-what-if","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rubens-antwerpen.be\/en\/home\/centre\/our-ladys-cathedral\/antoon-van-dyck-what-if\/","title":{"rendered":"Antoon van Dyck: What if?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What if ? (Anthony Van Dyck\/Cornelis Schut) <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u21d0 The Cathedral of Our Lady seen from the Groenplaats<\/p>\n

We return to the present day \u2013 and for once ask:<\/em>
\u2018What if?\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"\"<\/a>Anthony van Dyck, the portrait painter, just leaves a single trace in this cathedral, in the sacristy. In between the Antwerp bishops sits Joannes Malderus or Jan van Malderen (+ 1633). However, this painting is a mere copy, among others. The original is in the KMSKA collection and currently on display in Snijders&Rockox House.
\nhttps:\/\/kmska.be\/en\/masterpiece\/joannes-malderus-bishop-antwerp<\/a><\/p>\n

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That would be the end of our tour; except that at this point we \u2018d like to ask the question:
\n“What if?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

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First the facts: around the turn of the year 1640-1641, Van Dyck was in Antwerp, a stop-over between Paris and London. He received a commission from the guild of the Young Longbowmen for their altar in this Cathedral. He was asked to paint a ‘Martyrdom of Saint George’<\/em>. The proposed fee of 2000 guilders is the kind of sum you get at the peak of your career. There are at least two preparatory oil sketches, but then Anthony only passed by Antwerp once\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and then died at the end of 1641.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"\"<\/a>Eventually, it was Cornelis Schut who made the painting, now in the KMSKA; it\u2019s a monumental work, with dark dramatic colours from top to bottom.
\nhttps:\/\/kmska.be\/en\/masterpiece\/beheading-saint-george<\/a><\/p>\n

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And now: What If?<\/strong> The altar in question is said to have been located in the north transept. Can you imagine a Van Dyck hanging there, instead of the ‘Raising of the Cross<\/em>‘? What a beautiful balance between master and gifted student, who was a master himself!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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On leaving the Cathedral, we suggest you listen to the contemporary composition by Arvo P\u00e4rt (2001) on the Latin text of Simeon’s Hymn ‘Nunc dimittis’:<\/strong><\/p>\n