Jean Baptiste Van Moer, Old Brussels, 1870

by Atelier Liesjes

Between tall brick houses with stepped gables and tiled roofs, a narrow alley leads to a bright opening in the distance. In the centre on the right stands a curious structure: a wooden shed on stilts, with a roof of weathered tiles, built over a dark watercourse or gutter. In front of it runs a wooden latticework with handrails, like a little bridge. On the left, the houses stand close together, with small windows, shutters and the occasional chimney; on the right, a large roof slopes down over the alley. The sky is pale blue with soft clouds. At the bottom, the water reflects the light from the sky; the street is wet and muddy, with the occasional puddle between the cobblestones. Traces of rain and age are visible on the façades. Van Moer paints the old town as he knew it, with a mixture of precision and melancholy. The watercolour is applied loosely and fluidly: the houses are rendered with a few brushstrokes, the roofs with broad washes, the alleyway with a few lines. The palette is muted – grey-brown, ochre, pale red and olive green – with only the blue of the sky providing a touch of coolness. It is precisely this restraint that renders the scene quiet and desolate. In the nineteenth century, this Brussels disappeared: the Senne was covered over and the alleyways were demolished. What is captured here is a city on the verge of disappearing, and that is what gives the picture its melancholy. Jean Baptiste Van Moer (Brussels 1819 – Ixelles 1884) was a Belgian painter and watercolourist, specialising in cityscapes. He travelled to Italy, Spain and Egypt and made a name for himself with meticulous vedute of Brussels, in which he captured the old neighbourhoods before their demise. His signature, with the year 70, appears in the bottom right-hand corner. An atmospheric, understated cityscape suitable for a classical or rustic interior.