Modern take on Flemish classics in new Bruges museum

Inspired by Jan van Eyck and other 15th-century Flemish painters, 40 artists came together over 60 days to produce sculptures for a new museum in Bruges.

The Musea Sculpta, in the shadow of Bruges's Saint-Salvator Cathedral, hopes to attract tourists with a modern take on the works of the Flemish masters.

The 700 square-metre museum was designed by artist Alexander Deman to house works inspired by Renaissance painters Van Eyck, Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch.

After 20 years of hosting ice and sand sculpture festivals in Belgium and France, Deman, a Bruges native, said he wanted to create something more permanent and feature the works of the early Flemish Renaissance painters because "they represent the birth of the depth technique in their paintings".

Reuters