As soon as we got into the Brussels train station, we noticed a big difference. The language had changed from one that is Dutch-like to French. We noticed it first from the lady who collected money for the toilet in the train station. She spoke French. Brussels is much more of a standard international cosmopolitan city, but still has an exquisite grand market! It was a newer market than any we’ve seen before. These buildings seemed to be mostly late 1600’s. Much newer! To find the square, we asked at a hotel where the Tourist Information Office is. Got half way there, and didn’t know where to go. So I (Adelle) stopped a policeman, and asked for the Tourist Office in my best French – and was given a complete answer in the same language. Amazingly enough, I understood him.
At the Tourist Office, we asked for directions to the Palace of Beaux Arts. Following these directions, we walked for quite a while. Finally decided we were lost. Just as panic set in, an American lady who happened to be walking by, stopped and asked if she could help. She got us most of the way there – and also suggested we have lunch in a beautiful old building that is now a museum of musical instruments. Went for a lovely lunch, enlivened by conversation with a different American lady at the next table. She and her granddaughter (from Virginia) were spending a week with her son who lives here.
The Beaux Art had a special exhibit that was most unusual. They had paintings by Pieter Breughel the elder and the younger and by Jan Breughel the elder and younger. Four generations of painters – all painting the same group of paintings. Copies of these paintings are owned by museums all over the world. The "youngers" copied the paintings of the "olders"! In the case of the Pieters, 10 or 12 copies of various paintings by the elder multiplied to 1500 copies that his son and grandsons made in his workshop! The exhibit showed how they copied the originals and what they used. Originals and copies by the "youngers" and others were shown side-by-side. In some cases, up to ten or twelve copies was exhibited from museums all over the world. Some were nearly faithful copies. There was also a display showing slides of the same details from several paintings, and one could see that the copies sometimes glossed over some of them. Other paintings were obviously not intended to be exact copies, but interpretations. A very absorbing show!
Then we went through a very small part of the permanent exhibition containing many paintings by great artists we had never even heard of. Huge museum, housed in an absolutely beautiful old palace. We left about 3:30, quite exhausted and started to go directly back to the railroad station, which was considerably closer than the square where we had started. Got part way down the hill and noticed a wonderful clock in the building ahead. Decided to stay and listen to it chime. Ron got it on the tape. Nice!
