a gothic gem
written on 01.01.10 by Jeannine
the perfect gothic space
From an architectural point of view, the fourteenth-century refectory is the perfect Gothic space. Seven pointed arches support a wooden barrel vault that spans an area of 10 metres by 31. The rafters are 13.70 metres high. The arches rest on slender half-pillars made of ornately carved Tournai stone.
pre-van eyckian wall paintings
As was customary in the Middle Ages, the stone walls are coated with layers of lime, plaster and paint. The appearance of the space is refined by architectural elements such as the vaulting and the delicate pillars. But it is the wall paintings with their decorative interplay of lines and muted colour palette that steal the show. They represent the Last Supper, the Blessing of Mary, St Christopher and St John the Baptist.
authentic, fourteenth-century, gothic brick gem
The west wall of the refectory is particularly admired for the masterly way it combines a variety of Gothic decorative elements. Masons of the day showed great flair when it came to expressing the Gothic artistic idiom in brick and this Gothic gem is a tribute to their superb craftsmanship.
