Bruges - Groeninge Museum

To the left of No. 12 Dijver an entrance leads from the quay to the Groeninge Museum (Stedelijk Museum voor Schone Kunst) tucked away behind. In addition to its excellent endowment of Old Flemish paintings the museum incorporates a gallery of modern art and a superb collection of views of old Bruges.

The first five rooms of the museum are the ones most likely to claim the visitor's attention however, containing as they do some quite exceptional paintings by Old Flemish masters.

In Room 1 hang two major works by Jan van Eyck: "Madonna and the donor, Canon van der Paele" (1436) and the portrait of Margarete van Eyck, the artist's wife, painted when she was 33 years of age (1439). Both illustrate the extraordinary realism of his style.

Room 2 has paintings by Hugo van der Goes ("Death of the Virgin"), Hans Memling (the Moreel Triptych, 1484; altar wing with Annunciation) and Petrus Christus ("Annunciation and Birth of Christ"; altar wing depicting Isabella of Portugal).

In Room 3 are panels illustrating the legend of St Ursula and a portrait of Luis Gruuthuse, both famous works by unknown Bruges masters.

Hanging in Room 4 are two large pictures entitled the "Judgment of Cambyses" (1498) and a triptych showing the Baptism of Christ, all by David Gerard.

The "Last Judgment" by Hieronymus Bosch is among the paintings in Room 5.