1673: Canfyn House, Gent

Address: originally Goudenleeuwplein, Gent; seen in the Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Gent in the 1990s; now in storage
Open: No.
How good is it? Five impressive panels.

Five panels by Hansche survive from the house of the Canfyn family in the centre of Gent, which was demolished in 1902. I have spoken to two people who have seen them, but they are currently in storage in a workshop near Gent, waiting for the right moment to put them on display. The panels represent Time (supposedly) and the Four Seasons, and fortunately photographs of all five are in the online Gent city archive, which has given permission for me to use them here.

This central panel is labelled as Time, but I have to say it looks to me much more like the Assumption; the central figure is a woman in modest clothing and wimple, carrying a flag, being lifted up by a bearded angelic figure, with a smaller angel about to place a wreath on her head. I don’t see anything here which looks like Time.

A slightly blurry Spring, but helpfully the date is clear:

A more blurry Summer, though you can see that the figure at bottom right leans out of the panel:

A clearer Autumn, with fauns and humans making wine, several of them intruding into our space:

And a much clearer Winter. Look at the firewood protruding to the right. (And the fading man warming himself at the fire in his comfy chair.)

I don’t see an actual signature by Hansche here, but maybe it’s in a part of the artwork that was not photographed (or has been lost). In any case, the panels can hardly be by anyone else.

I do hope that the City of Gent decides to put these lovely panels on display again. These photographs are all copyright of and reproduced with permission from the Stadsarchief in Gent.

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)