The day began right after we hopped off the plane in Brussels–we took barely anytime through customs before we boarded our own bus and headed off to see the sites. On the way to the Brussels Museum–where we spent the bulk of our day–we were able to see many of the different buildings throughout Brussels. The buildings ranged from Gothic, to optimistic, to Japanese structures and even to smaller 18th century apartments. The bus and walking tours were exciting and gave an overall view of Brussels. The museum, however, gave some more history.

In the museum I was given the task to find and analyze Justice of Emperor Otto III by Dirk Bouts. 

So many things are happening in this piece it was hard to tell what the whole story was. A few things I noticed was that the joker-like dressed man that beheaded a manfor Emperor Otto III is also seen setting fire to a woman in the background (which appears in both paintings, she seems to be whispering something in the piece on the left). Additionally, the backgrounds change from great castles to almost a church/cathedral image which may have something to do with the Emperor’s hierarchy. Also all the men seem to look too strangely alike; I could tell the differences between the first and second paintings of the men because of their clothes and small features.

But after staring at this piece I am left with more questions than answers: why is the emperor having this man beheaded in the first place? Who is this man? What is in the small box on the right? Why is the man who has done the beheading dressed the way he is? Who is the woman being burned at the stake? Why does a monk appear on the left but not on the right? What is the featured woman holding in her left hand? Could it be a scroll?
I hope to answer these questions and more..soon…hopefully.
The first day was a good start but I can’t wait to see what to do tomorrow.