Mosan art and the Middle Ages
In the valley of the River Meuse, centred on Liège, a goldsmiths’ art arose in the 12th century that was among the finest in Europe. At the same time the rich trading towns of Flanders built cathedrals, cloth halls and belfries.
In the Middle Ages what is now Belgium was divided between principalities that owed allegiance either to the King of France or to the Holy Roman Emperor. The County of Flanders lay in the west, the Duchy of Brabant in the centre and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège in the east. In Liège and in the monasteries along the Meuse, such as Stavelot and Huy, the art developed that is called Mosan after the river’s Latin name, Mosa.
Mosan art is above all an art in metal. Goldsmiths and founders made baptismal fonts, reliquary shrines, crosses and altar furnishings in bronze, gilded copper and enamel. The cast font in Liège from the early 12th century has figures with a calm, almost classical weight, and the enamels of the Meuse valley are known for their clear blues and greens. The greatest master, Nicholas of Verdun, signed the Shrine of Our Lady in Tournai Cathedral in 1205.
In the west, Flanders grew rich on the cloth trade. Bruges, Ghent and Ypres built great cloth halls and belfries that displayed the power of their burghers, and Gothic arrived early in Tournai and Brussels. Towards the end of the period most of the principalities were united under the Dukes of Burgundy, and artists from Flanders and Brabant were already working for the courts in Paris and Dijon.