Mechelen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Hof van Busleyden Museum in Mechelen will display a Jan van Roome design for a St. Rumbold’s Cathedral stained-glass, showing Charles V’s family tree; the original was lost in the French Revolution.
As VRT News reported, the Hof van Busleyden Museum in Mechelen will display a rare and valuable drawing by Flemish artist Jan van Roome for the next 3 months. The work shows the family tree of Emperor Charles V. Charles V appears at the bottom centre, and his brother Ferdinand stands to his right. The drawing spreads upward from them.
What rare Jan van Roome drawing of Charles V is on display in Mechelen?
At the top of the drawing stands Jesus Christ, placed above the rulers as the highest authority in the Catholic faith. He is shown at the moment of the Last Judgment. A clear line connects Christ to Charles and Ferdinand, suggesting that both men hold their position by divine approval as well as by birthright.
“It is the last tangible reminder of a piece of Mechelen’s history.”
Greet Geypen (For Mechelen), Alderman for Heritage
The design was created by Jan van Roome, a Renaissance artist.
“Besides being a designer of stained-glass windows and tapestries, he was also a gifted painter,”
says Alderman for Heritage Greet Geypen (For Mechelen).
“Van Roome created this design drawing for a monumental stained-glass window that once stood in St. Rumbold’s Cathedral. It was installed in 1522 but unfortunately did not survive the French Revolution. This makes this drawing the last tangible reminder of a piece of Mechelen’s history.”
This document concerns the city of Mechelen, which earned a strong reputation for training the children of royalty around 1500. This is the period when Charles V was raised there after being separated from his parents (Philip the Fair and Philip the Buskin) when Philip went to take the throne in Spain in 1504, leaving Charles to be raised at the Court of Cambrai by Margaret of Austria (no children) and having taken charge of his upbringing.
At this time, while there was much change and disarray in the Netherlands (such as protests), Mechelen was stable and provided security for the future emperor as he grew up, even with continuous political changes in the surrounding areas.
This drawing was created on paper and is considered one of the more fragile pieces in the collection because of this. The museum only allows selected viewings of it during special occasions so that it can be protected from deterioration. The last time the drawing was publicly displayed was in 2021 as part of the exhibit entitled “Children of the Renaissance.”
