Three centuries of justice in picture
- Structured into five major parts, this exhibition reveals the evolution of the principles of justice since 1450. We walked through 120 exceptional works of art such as painting, drawings and books. This exposition gave us a realistic and scary feeling, supposedly it was meant to impress bad intentioned people at the time. Well, it worked on us. On a lighter note it highlights the cultural richness of our heritage.
- The Misogynist
- For those of you who aren’t quite sure what the word means, a misogynist is a person who hates or doesn't trust women. It seems that the 15th century really didn’t trust women or men for that matter. For fair justice needed to be imposed by scaring everyone with horrifying torture into doing the right thing. Fair justice. When a woman is finally portrait it is to show the people of Bruges how NOT to do it. (The revenge of Tomyris B6) 1610 by Pieter Pieters.
- “It is a reverse scene of justice: an example it would be better not to follow. In this case judgment is made by a woman. This is very exceptional, since under the ancient regime women were considered weak and unreasonable and were therefore not allowed to be Judges.”
- But rest assured, the paintings evolve, the gruesomeness stays however.
- Ladies, by the end you become the symbol of justice and wisdom. (Prudential wisdom) and Justitia E18 1537 Cornelis Bos after Maarten van Heemskerck.
- And a little further E19 you conquer the 7 Deadly Sins!
- This exhibition gives you an amazing insight into how the world functioned only a couple of centuries ago, and although we’re far from perfect we have made some huge progress respecting humans and ideologies.
- If you’re in Bruges, don’t miss this exhibit. But make sure you plan to grab a drink somewhere afterwards to wash down all the gruesome torture scenes!
- We had a lovely late brunch-lunch @le pain quotidien. Homemade soup, and a slice of bread and a delicious Botanist brunch, while we reminisce about the richness of the exhibition and our heritage.
- Closes February 5th 2017.
- Allow 2 hours of visit.
Groeningemuseum | price: €8