1666-72: Modave castle

Address: Rue du Parc 4, 4577 Modave
Website: https://www.modave-castle.be/
Co-ordinates: 50.44118, 5.28785
Distance from central Brussels: 90 km as the crow flies
Open: 10h-18h, 1 April-13 November, except Mondays (but open on Mondays which are in July, August or public holidays in opening season)
Parking: on site
How to get there by public transport: Bus 126a from Huy railway station stops at the end of the (long) drive.
How good is it? One of the three most impressive Hansch ceilings, along with Park Abbey and the Brouwershuis in Gent. A combination of classical, chivalric and contemporary themes.
Dates of my visits: 1 November 2021; 9 July 2022

This is the earliest of the Hansche stuccos which is open to the general public. It’s also by some way the most remote, 90 km from Brussels and 40 km from Namur, the nearest large city. It is the only surviving work by Hansche which was not situated in the Spanish Netherlands in the seventeenth century – Modave was part of the independent Prince-Bishopric of Liège. However it’s definitely worth the journey – Modave and Park Abbey are the two largest, most striking and most accessible of Hansche’s surviving stuccos.

Modave Castle was built as a medieval fortress in the 13th century, but was acquired by John Gaspar Ferdinand de Marchin, Comte de Granville, in the course of his military career in the 17th century. He spent his personal fortune on it, and his heirs sold it on as soon as they found a buyer willing to pay a decent price. It is now owned by the Brussels water company.

Your experience of Hansche starts in the entrance hall of the castle, which features de Marchin’s family tree, with mounted knights leaning down out of history and into our space.

These are the only Hansche stuccos that I have seen that are fully painted.

A neighbouring suite has the theme of the Labours of Hercules, also seen in Beaulieu Castle in Machelen and the Brouwershuis in Gent – see below the taming of the man-eating mares of Diomedes, the slaying of the nine-headed Hydra and (less distinctly as I could not get a clear shot) the cattle dispute with the three-headed Geryon.

Inset into the walls are some more stuccos, a bit more rounded thanks to gravity providing a lesser challenge. These are the only wall stuccos by Hansche depicting mythological scenes that I have seen. (There are some less visually descriptive wall stuccos in the sacristy of the Charles Borromeo church in Antwerp.)

Upstairs is another suite where the ceilings have a more military theme commemorating de Marchin’s career – I got only two good pics, but I am very pleased with the cannon pointing out of the ceiling.

Also I know they are mythical creatures but I think this is a male unicorn.

Modave has other art too, including these lovely panels:

Some striking tapestries:

And grand mural scenes of Rome:

The light was such that I needed an Instagram filter for the view of the front of the castle on my first visit:

Remote but well worth it.

(All photographs copyright Nicholas Whyte)

Introduction: The amazing stucco ceilings of Jan Christiaan Hansche

(The one that might not be by Hansche in the Gent law library)

The ceilings of Jan Christiaan Hansche, from most to least amazing:

Leuven – Park Abbey | Modave Castle | Gent – Brouwershuis | Antwerp – Sacristy of the Church of St Charles Borromeo | Sint-Pieters-Rode – Horst Castle | Machelen – Beaulieu Castle | Gent – Canfyn House (in storage) | Wesel, Germany (Fischmarkt) (destroyed) | Kleve, Germany (destroyed) | Perk – Church of St Nicholas | Wesel, Germany (Zaudy) (destroyed) | Brussels – Church of the Sablon | Franc-Waret – Church of St Remigius | Aarschot – Schoonhoven Castle | Leuven – Priory of the Vale of St Martin (destroyed, little known)

The ceilings of Jan Christiaan Hansche, from earliest to latest date of creation:

1653: Antwerp – Sacristy of the Church of St Charles Borromeo | 1655: Sint-Pieters-Rode – Horst Castle | 1659: Machelen – Beaulieu Castle | 1666-72: Modave Castle | 1668-70: Perk – Church of St Nicholas | 1669: Franc-Waret – Church of St Remigius | 1670s: Leuven – Priory of the Vale of St Martin (destroyed) | 1671: Aarschot – Schoonhoven Castle | 1672: Wesel, Germany (Fischmarkt) (destroyed) | 1672/79: Leuven – Park Abbey | 1673: Gent – Canfyn House (in storage) | 1673: Gent – Brouwershuis | 1677: Kleve, Germany (destroyed) | 1677 Wesel, Germany (Zaudy) (destroyed) | 1684: Brussels – Church of the Sablon

The ceilings of Jan Christiaan Hansche, from most to least accessible to tourists:

Open to the public: Brussels – Church of the Sablon | Leuven – Park Abbey | Modave Castle | Perk – Church of St Nicholas | Franc-Waret – Church of St Remigius

Not normally open to the public: Antwerp – Sacristy of the Church of St Charles Borromeo | Sint-Pieters-Rode – Horst Castle | Machelen – Beaulieu Castle | Aarschot – Schoonhoven Castle | Gent – Brouwershuis

Not accessible: Gent – Canfyn House (in storage) | Wesel, Germany (Fischmarkt) (destroyed) | Wesel, Germany (Zaudy) (destroyed) | Kleve, Germany (destroyed) | Leuven – Priory of the Vale of St Martin (destroyed, little known)

The ceilings of Jan Christiaan Hansche, from west to east:

Gent – Canfyn House (in storage) | Gent – Brouwershuis | Brussels – Church of the Sablon | Machelen – Beaulieu Castle | Antwerp – Sacristy of the Church of St Charles Borromeo | Perk – Church of St Nicholas | Leuven – Priory of the Vale of St Martin (destroyed, little known) | Leuven – Park Abbey | Sint-Pieters-Rode – Horst Castle | Aarschot – Schoonhoven Castle | Franc-Waret – Church of St Remigius | Modave Castle | Kleve, Germany (destroyed) | Wesel, Germany (Fischmarkt) (destroyed) | Wesel, Germany (Zaudy) (destroyed)