| In the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century built environment of Belgium, works of architecture of a Flemish Renaissance revival character are, proportionally, of great importance. Such works--in vast majority of secular function--display in their superficial styling, features derived from advanced sixteenth- or seventeenth- century architectural expressions in Flanders (notably those associated with Hans Vredeman De Vries and Peter Paul Rubens). Flemish Renaissance revival styling was first seen in Belgian applied art in the 1840s, and slightly later in interior then exterior architecture. It became widely employed in monumental--including bourgeois domestic--architecture only after the mid-1870s, during which decade it was promoted as a "nationalist" expression for Belgian architecture. At the same time, its use was seen as a means for recreating the culture of Flanders's glorious Renaissance as the viable culture of modern Belgium. From this time onward, many restorations of surviving Flemish Renaissance monuments were carried out. In the 1880s, the popularity of Flemish Renaissance revival architecture increased constantly. During the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century, such architecture became ubiquitous throughout Belgium. But by this time, Flemish Renaissance revival architectural styling was no longer generally regarded as embodying some national Belgian essence. Most twentieth-century manifestations of Flemish Renaissance revival architecture were intended to be of (Flemish) regionalist significance. The formal evolutions of the several discernible variants of Flemish Renaissance revival architecture are related intimately to the ideological positions these variants were supposed, respectively and successively between 1830 and l930, to embody. In turn, these positions are revealed to be contingent upon specific socio-economic realities in a country representing modern Europe in microcosm. The dissertation is arranged chronologically. It includes an extensive bibliography, mainly of primary sources, and an appendix listing over 300 designers and craftsmen mentioned in the text, notes, and captions to the 305 plates. |
