Day two:

Today we traveled to Bruges and spent the entire day there exploring the small area. Apparently, it’s only 7 miles (?) around the place and we walked at least 6.99 of those miles. We were able to see the architecture, the chocolate, the cathedrals, and of course the art.

I focused on one specific piece in the Groeninge museum: Portrait of Margareta Van Eyck by Jan van Eyck.

Jan van Eyck is a well known artist today, partially due to his use of detail and realism. What I found particularly interesting about this piece was the way that women of the 1400s dressed and portrayed themselves. Notice how Eyck painted her exactly how she would appear in real life: balding head, long sharp nose, and bundled up in clothes. Women in the 15th century actually shaved their foreheads so it would appear larger (large foreheads was a trend). Additionally it was not proper to have your hair lose, it always had to be tied back tightly or else it was considered indecent. This is a simple piece by Eyck but the detail and realism of it really stands out to me.