He's Buried Here

Antwerp is a great walking city. I have tried to walk every day in this big little city, clocking between three and eight miles, strolling the main streets or dipping into tiny alleys. Often I leave our little apartment with no real goal or destination. It's been profoundly satisfying.

This little street, called Sint Jacobsstraat, brought me to the resting place for Peter Paul Rubens.

I wasn't even looking for it. But as I said in an earlier post, Rubens really is everywhere in Antwerp.

As it happened, this handsome mural caught my eye and I headed toward it. The building that hosts the mural is a neighborhood school.

Then I spotted the gothic windows of the cathedral further down and, voila!, you can imagine my delight when I learned it was Rubens' last stop.

Known in English as St. James Cathedral, this is a pilgrimage church for pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Even today, if a traveler makes an appointment with the parish priest she can receive a St. James blessing.

The site was originally a primitive pilgrim cottage outside Antwerp's old city walls, dating to the early decades of the 14th century. People would stop here for the night before heading west on their journey. Over time, the site was purchased by the church.

Built originally in 1413 and then renovated and subsequentially elevated to a parish church, Sint Jacobskerk is one of five active Catholic churches in Antwerp today. The tower is known architecturally as Brabant Gothic style.

And since tourist season is only just beginning, it was not open for me to check out the inside. The gates were open but the door was closed.

Peter Paul Rubens tomb, 1645
Madonna altarpiece, 1638
Our Lady's Chapel
Sint Jacobskerk, Antwerp

Not only is Rubens buried here but he also painted this Madonna altarpiece in 1638 and married his second wife Helena Fourment here in 1630.

The altarpiece is a swirling baroque image of the Virgin Mary in blue surrounded by saints. The aging man in the foreground is Hieronymous, a church father, seated on a lion. Mary Magdalene holds a balsam jar, while the soldier in black armor represents St. George defeating the dragon.

The painting was originally commissioned by a patron but the deal was never consummated. Thus Rubens kept it for himself and, before he died, established that it was this image he wanted to be placed at his tomb. It took another five years after his death in 1640 for the chapel to be completed but today, this altarpiece and his tomb are often known as the Rubens Chapel.

This, then, was one afternoon's find on a lucky day of foraging. May I be blessed again tomorrow, and all the tomorrows to come.