Three Things I love About Flanders
The boundaries of the European area of Flanders are mercurial when discussing art history. Just considering our day, even, the political boundaries differ if one is considering the “Flemish region” or the “Flemish community.” Roughly speaking, Flanders is the northern, Dutch-speaking 2/5 or so of Belgium. In discussing visual art, however, “Flanders” seems to signify the southern band of The Netherlands for works predating about 1580; after 1580 (when artistic output was constrained under pressure from Spain) “Flanders” usually means northern Belgium.
Anyway, the first thing I want to note love about Flanders is the unbelievable art output for such a small area. Certainly, not all Old Masters were Flemish, but, really—Hans Memling, Pieter Brueghel (both of ‘em), Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Dyck, Rubens, and about a hundred other revolutionary artists—all worthy of Old Master credentials as evidenced by their artistic ability.
The second thing I love about Flanders is, of course, the beer. And a lot of these can be purchased even in the heart of the heart of country where I live. Chimay, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Westmalle, La Chouffe—similar to the visual art I noted above, these examples of brewing art display much variety, history, and organoleptic profiles. This is another amazing attribute of this little part of a little country in Europe.
In discussing the third thing I love about Flanders, please refer to my introduction in which I relate the fuzziness of what constitutes Flanders. An excellent writer whose tone and style I overtly try to mimic, Georges Simenon, was born and came into adulthood in Liège, Belgium. This city is within Wallonia, meaning a tiny bit south of what constitutes Flanders, but I am rounding up and including Simenon in my list.
Simenon created Detective Maigret in many short reads. Maigret maintains the cold eye of the sociologist in pursuing criminals; he seeks to understand rather than judge his suspects. Simenon also wrote some books that I find fascinating for their atmospheric emotions. Similar to Stephen Cranes story “The Blue Hotel,” I discover that what interests and affects me is not the plot or characters as much as the “feel” of the setting does.
Simenon wrote one such book that is set in a fishing village. There is a local doctor who meets with other locals at routine times at a local bar. I would be grateful to know the name of this novel if any of you readers happen to know it. It is a great example Simenon’s craft at the atmospheric.
