View of Brussels

The work was painted by Jan Baptist Bonnecroy, a Flemish painter from Antwerp, circa 1664-1665.[1]

It belonged to the Dukes of Arenberg.[2]

Around 1960, the painting was sold by Engelbert-Charles d’Arenberg to a New York art dealer, who sent it to the United States.[2][3]

In 1990, the King Baudouin Foundation’s Heritage Fund was able to purchase the painting and return it to Belgium. The work has been entrusted, on long-term loan, to the Royal Fine Arts Museums of Belgium in Brussels.[2][3][4]

The painting shows a bird’s eye view of the city of Brussels. It is painted looking down from an imaginary height in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek.[2][5] in the north-west of the city. Bonnecroy would have been unable to see the city from this aerial perspective, proving that he worked in total liberty. He accentuated various buildings in the city, taking inspiration from local land surveys and printed maps.[1]

A number of buildings in the painting can be identified, notably within the inner ring around the Pentagon of the old city. Amongst the buildings represented can be seen:[2]

• The Coudenberg Palace
• The Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudule of Brussels
• The City Hall
• The choir of the Church of Saint Nicholas
• The Church of the Augustinians
• The Saint John the Baptist at the Béguinage
• The Saint Catherine Church
• The Porte à Peine Perdue (Pointless Gate)
• The Porte Noire (Black Gate)
• The Porte du Rivage (Waterfront Gate)
• The Church of Saint John the Baptist in Molenbeek
• La Grosse Tour (The Big Tower)
• The Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon
• The Saint-Pierre Hospital
• The Halle Gate
• The Jesuit Church
• The Chapel Church
• The Church of the Place Saint-Géry
• The Porte d’Anderlecht de Ter Cruyskene
• The Petite ecluse (the little lock)
• The Porte de Flandre