Detail of Brugge François Stroobant

François Stroobant was a Belgian painter and lithographer who studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts from 1832 to 1847. For the next stage in his artistic development, he went on a long Grand Tour, passing through France, Galicia, Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Hungary, constantly refining his skills as he travelled.
While he also worked as an engraver and watercolourist and produced murals and landscapes, his main focus as a painter was on urban scenes. From 1850 onwards, most of his output consisted of cityscapes, particularly those that focused on older neighbourhoods and the main local monuments. His style is characterised by capturing buildings in rich, meticulous detail.
Stroobant also excelled as an art teacher. In 1865 he became the founder and first director of the Molenbeek Art Academy, which initially operated according to a curriculum he devised himself.
The Budapest painting depicts a canal in Bruges, a city sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. Although the focal point of the work is the soaring spire of the Church of Our Lady, the building is confined to the background. The three-arched stone bridge in the foreground leads to the main entrance of the Beguinage in Bruges, which still houses nuns. Interestingly, the city centre has hardly changed since the Middle Ages.

Rebeka Mrázik