Flanders’ last humanist city palace TEXT: ARNE ADRIAENSSENS | PHOTOS: MUSEUM HOF VAN BUSLEYDEN, SOPHIE NUYTTEN
In Mechelen, the legacy of the enlightened thinkers that were the humanists is still very tangible. At Hof van Busleyden, a museum which is housed in the city palace of the eponymous intellectual, they continue striving for progression by looking at the past. With their latest project – The Ground of Things – and its linked exhibition The Neverending Park, they implement this philosophy in the entire city and beyond. The 16th century was one of wealth and progress for Flanders’ most charming city, Mechelen. Aristocrats like Margaret of 86 | Issue 71 | November 2019
Austria and Margaret of York settled here at the exact moment that great thinkers like Thomas More and Desiderius Erasmus discovered Mechelen, as well. Another enlightened mind which was drawn to the city was the wealthy humanist Hieronymus van Busleyden, who built himself a city palace in the heart of Mechelen. “His house became a fascinating place to think, discuss and be inspired,” says Sigrid Bosmans, artistic director of Hof van Busleyden, the museum which is settled in the palace today. “These palaces were places where they collected art, which they then used to trigger the mind, as a conversation starter. While gazing at these historic artefacts, the
humanists philosophised about the future. They always actualised the past, connecting the future and the past, starting from the present.”
Past and future That same philosophy still lingers in the halls of Hof van Busleyden. Now a museum, the main goal of the institution is to inspire its visitors and project the humanists’ hunger for progression on the city. “Hof van Busleyden is a synthesis of what’s happening around us. It is about power and craftsmanship; about innovation and self-reflection.” Although it has plenty of amazing works against its