Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Beguinage
Theodoor van Loon (ca. 1582-1649)
Even though there is a busy fish market nearby, the atmosphere around the church at the Brussels Beguinage is quite serene. For more than 400 years Theodoor van Loon’s paintings have been looking down on what is going on beneath them. For a long time the church provided a refuge for people on the run. Now it is home to the House of Compassion, which continues this undertaking. It is an authentic location associated with many stories behind a beautiful Baroque screen façade.
Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Beguinage
The Beguinage church is pretty much a museum dedicated to Theodoor van Loon, also the painter of the basilica at Scherpenheuvel. In 1622, he painted a magnificent Assumption of Mary for the high altar, with three prominent female saints. This oeuvre, which is now displayed in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, was recently restored. In addition to ‘Saint Ursula Crowned by the Child Jesus’, five more of his paintings are on display here. A sixth, ‘Salome with the Head of John the Baptist’, was stolen in 1973.
Saint Ursula Crowned by the Child Jesus
Van Loon painted this charming scene in 1626. Mary enthroned among female saints, like a queen among her ladies-in-waiting. Jesus sits on her lap and extends a laurel wreath to Saint Ursula, who smiles and kneels to receive the crown. This predominantly female group is a perfect match for a Beguinage church, the heart of a community of pious women.
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