New office blocks

The new office blocks that will house the courts of justice among other things. The architects have made an effort to build them in a style compatible with the rest of the city centre. In my opinion they look like cardboard facades or a film set. Compared to the Palace of the Bishop Princes next door they are just cheap...

Yesterday's sunset revisited

A zoomed view of yesterday's sunset. The Fortis Bank building in the centre is framed between the Saint Jean (left) and St Martin (right) churches.

Skywatch Friday

My first Skywatch in a month. That's how bad the weather has been. But here, at last a nice sunset presiding over the Place de l'Opéra. You can browse through hundreds of phenomenal sky photos here.

But spring ain't here yet...

as witnessed by this sunlit but leafless tree in Place Saint Michel.

Winter is receding

I think that winter is slowly receding. Temperatures have been positive for almost a week and the sun puts in a shy appearance from time to time. Here it's lighting up one side of a building next to the Sainte Croix church, despite the gloomy cloud background.

And finally...

An amazing, rather occult dagger from the weapons collection of the Grand Curtius. You can probably open a gate to another dimension with it, if you know the correct incantation.

And some mummies

The Grand Curtius also has a small Egyptian antiquities section, with a couple of sarcophagi and some statuettes. Here's some of them.

More paintings

Here's another couple of paintings from the Grand Curtius. A beautiful Madonna and Child followed by, ... sorry I don't remember what the second painting is supposed to represent but I like it.

Les femmes vertueuses

The Grand Curtius museum also has a significant collection of paintings. The painting in this photo is one of a series called 'the virtuous women' by Lambert Lombard. I didn't hire the audio guide so I don't know what the series refers to but, to be honest, this here lady don't look none too virtuous to me...

Update: apparently, the painting depicts the slaying of Sisera by Jael (Judges 4:22). Sisera had it coming because he was a cruel leader and an oppressor. Having said that, he sought refuge in Jael's tent after his armies were defeated. She gave him sanctuary, waited for him to fall asleep and then nailed his brains to the ground. Still not my definition of virtuous...

Madonnas and children 3

These sculptures, still from the Grand Curtius collection, are by baroque artist Jean Del Cour. He introduced the baroque style to Liège and the city is full of his sculptures. I find them wonderful.

Madonnas and children 2

Mosan Art is sculpture on wood, characterised by a very primitive, almost naive style. Over the year the art evolved, using different materials and more sophisticated techniques but, in my humble opinion, to the detriment of authenticity. The following examples of the same subject matter are far less charming, I think.

Madonnas and children

Some more examples of Mosan art from the Grand Curtius. As you can see, Madonna and Child is one of the most recurring themes.

The last supper

A beautiful example of Mosan sculpture, exhibited in the Grand Curtius museum.

Le Grand Curtius from the inside

Yesterday we went to the new Grand Curtius museum for the second time. I took plenty of photos of the collection and will be posting some of the more interesting ones over the next few days. For the moment, here's a couple of photos of the main building taken from the central walkway.

Fed up with winter...

Gray clouds, snowflakes, cold, dirty snow. Can we have some spring soon please?

Neigemageddon

It's like snowmageddon only less apocalyptic. Everything in Liège is smaller scale than in the US!

Collateral damage

The broken windows in many city centre buildings constitute another sad reminder of last week's explosion. Here's photos of wooden panels boarding up the windows of the Town Hall

and the Palace of the Bishop Princes.

Silent contemplation

While we were on holidays in Greece, there was a terrible accident in Liège. A gas leak caused an explosion in a building right in the city centre, resulting in the collapse of two buildings and the death of 14 people at the last count. Ten days after the event, the authorities have allowed access to some areas near the site. People came to pay their respects, lay flowers or just look at the devastation.