The church was built between the 13th and 15th century, outside the first city wall to accommodate the expansion of the city. It has a 122m high tower, that once served as a beacon for ships.  Besides the "Madonna with Child", it has many other art treasures. In the choir gallery for example are the mausoleums of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the bold.

Michelangelo was deeply religious and very interested in the Bible. Probably he had the passage in mind, where Jesus’ parents are looking after him during a visit to the temple. When they reproach Jesus, he replies "Why where you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house" (Luke 2:49 and a similar passage in Mark 3:31-34).

"Madonna with Child" by Michelangelo.

This is just one, but doubtless the most famous art treasure present in the "Church of Our Lady".  It was ordered by a wealthy merchant from Bruges, who was also active in Italy,  and who offered it as a gift to the church. It is one of the few statues from Michelangelo that can be found outside Italy. At the time it was made (1504), Michelangelo was not yet well known (the statue precedes his "David") and the merchant clearly took a risk by investing in the young artist. The whole transaction illustrates the wealth of Bruges and the international character of its trade.

madonna.jpg (22455 bytes)The statue is radically different from earlier representations of the same subject, in which the mother, Maria, and her child, Jesus, exchange affectionate and tender smiles. Here, both are looking away from each other, and instead of smiling they are serious, pondering perhaps what the future has in store.

The statue expresses that it is Jesus’ destiny to become separated from his mother: Jesus is almost slipping away, and Maria’s left foot is raised so as to suggest this movement. On the other hand, both figures are united, as is stressed by the fact that they are holding hands.

The equilibrium between opposing feelings is structurally translated in the asymmetry of the volumes, and the opposition of vertical and diagonal lines. Note again in this respect the raised foot, without it the child would have been too low and the harmony lost.

The individualistic interpretation, which breaks away from the traditional idyllic representations, is typical for a Renaissance work. The same can be said of the harmony in content and in form, and the equilibrium between opposing feelings and structural elements.

(Based on the discussion by F.Baudouin in "Openbaar Kunstbezit in Vlaanderen", 1966, 5. Condensed and rewritten. Bible quotation added).