The Augustinus Music Centre
(AMUZ) is located in the Kammenstraat in Antwerp.
The aim of AMUZ according their own website:
“The Augustinus Music centre presents a varied program,
with fundamentally classic music coupled with other genres,
cultures and artistic expressions. That is how confrontations
are developing between old and new, western and non-western
music. AMUZ also gives special attention to genres that are
often taken less into consideration or not at all. In doing
so, the music centre is giving a surplus value to the music
variety needs of Flanders."
AMUZ uses the former Saint Augustinus church.
By means of an impressive restoration and new building extensions,
the place has been transformed to an excellent concert hall.
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Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck was born in Antwerp on
March 22, 1599. His gift of making beautiful paintings was present
at a very young age. At age 16 he and Jan Brueghel the younger
founded a workshop together. He was admitted to the Antwerp
painters' Guild of Saint Luke as a freemason at age 18 and continued
his education. Pieter Paul Rubens referred to the nineteen-year-old
van Dyck as 'the best of my pupils'. In 1621 Antoon (Anthony
?) went abroad for six years, studying Italian masters. On his
return in 1627 his reputation had risen in such a way that king
Charles I of England invited him to England. There too he became
famous in a very short time. In 1632 he was knighted and in
1633 he was appointed court painter for the king. He was married
in 1638 to Mary, daughter of Lord Ruthven, and together they
had a one daughter. Antoon (Anthony ?) van Dyck also had a daughter
with a mistress.
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Anthony van Dyck
self-portrait
1599 - 1641
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Anthony van Dyck is known as the greatest
baroque painter of the Netherlands, after Rubens. Although Rubens
initially influenced his style, in later work it is the style
of Titian, one of the most important painters of the Renaissance,
which can be seen. Anthony van Dyck died in London on December
9, 1641, at the age of 42. He is buried in the St Paul's Cathedral
of London.
In 1628 three masters, Pieter Paul Rubens,
Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens, were commissioned to decorate
the main altars with a painting. The painting by Van Dyck, ‘the
Ecstasy of St. Augustinus”, can be seen at the northern
altar.
The description from Amuz: "Saint
Augustinus is taken into rapture by a celestial vision in which
he sees the appearance of the Holy Trinity. This work refers
to the Agustinian mystic. The painting has been divided in two
groups. In the bottom group, the earthly one, Augustinus is
standing in the middle. On his left side an angel supports him.
His mother, Saint Monica, is kneeling beside the angel. To the
right of Augustinus an angel points to an apparition in the
sky. Nicolas of Tolentino is kneeling beside the angel. The
passage to the upper group is formed by a column, which blurs
in the sky. Many angels are surrounding the Trinity: Christ,
a dove as a symbol for the Holy Ghost and the triangle bearing
the Hebrew name of God the father: Jehovah."
As mentioned in the description this is
God's name written in Hebrew.
Detailed pictures...
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