08/07/2025
On this day a decade ago, I was exploring Antwerp, Belgium. This is Teniersplaats, featuring a statue of Baroque Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger. He founded the Antwerp Academy, training young artists in an effort to revive the Flemish art scene after the death of prominent area artists Rubens and van Dyck in the early 1640s. His work can be found around the world, including at the Louvre and the MET. He also helped contribute to the fad of “singeries”, painting scenes with monkeys, wearing human clothing. Now you know. 🙈
Teniersplaats marks the beginning of a fashionable shopping street, Meir. The neo-Baroque building shown was designed by architect Ernest Dieltiëns and now houses fancy shops, including Armani. Across the street is it’s counterpart, another gorgeous building, this one designed by Frans Van Dijk in 1899. Both buildings were commissioned by the city.
On a more tragic note, in November 1944, this square was V-bombed, killing 128 civilians and 29 soldiers. In that month alone 114 bombs hit the city and the surrounding area. More than 600 people perished. The chances of a friend, neighbour or family member being hit was very high for the citizens of Antwerp during the war.
