WOODCARVER ( Heraldic & ornamental wood carving ) - SCULPTEUR SUR BOIS (Sculpture ornementale) - ORNAMENTSNIJDER (Ornamenten & heraldiek in hout)- ORNAMENTSCHNITZER (Heraldik & ornamente in holz)
Woodcarver Ornamentalist Ornamentist Sculpteur sur bois Holzschnitzer
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This is a place where the visitors are confronted with their search for a personal touch and where they have an opportunity to get acquainted with skilled experts, who have turned durability and tradition into their passion.
Het spaans Gouvernement Museum -Museum aan het Vrijthof
Het Spaans Gouvernement museum anno 2010
The Museum aan het Vrijthof is housed in the Spanish Government, a 16th-century chapter house. The name Spanish Government harks back to when Charles V, the King of Spain, the German Emperor and the Duke of Brabant, visited Maastricht between 1519 and 1550. During his stays, Charles V resided at the Spanish Government. It was during these years that the timber-framed building erected on a stone foundation was replaced by the current marl-stone house. The coats of arms above the windows on the first floor and the sculpted portraitmedallions of Charles V and his wife Isabella of Portugal in the relief around one of the arches of the arcade on thecourtyard side remind us of his presence here.
The Spanish Government was built in the first half of the 16th century and displays all the hallmarks of the Late Gothic and the Early Renaissance transitional style. The brace-shaped finish on the courtyard side windows is unmistakably Late Gothic, while the rounded arch cross-windows on the Vrijthof side and the gallery with its special tulip-shaped columns on the courtyard side are plainly Renaissance style. Also note the a forementioned carved relief with portrait medallions dated 1545 and the carved chapters with exotic humanand animal motifs which belie a pre-Columbian inspiration.
The gallery opened in the 18th century. During a major renovation, the ground floor, which had been closed away behind a carriage-entrance façade, was fitted with window openings on the Vrijthof side, and the gallery was closed, making the ground floor suitable for residential use.
The Spanish Government was rebuilt in 1973 and expanded to allow the museum to house the Wagner-de Wit collection. The connecting gallery was also built in accordance with the newly-built pavilion for this purpose. The original condition was partially restored by re-opening the gallery and enclosing with a glass façade placed behind the arches and columns.
