Whenever you have the chance to photograph a richly decorated environment, make sure to leave some time to take another walk through the premises, this time focusing on interesting details and remarkable ornaments. These pictures will complete the ‘overall’ shots and will add to the appreciation of art and architecture.
Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8
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Time to go up the majestic marble stairway at the Val-Duchesse castle, and explore the first floor.
From the landing, a small salon leads on to a large and bright hall in Louis XVI style – the Baron room – complete with mirrors and chandeliers.
At the other side, the apartment of former owner Charles Dietrich now has become the ‘Presidential suite’.
Gear notes: D700, 16/2.8, 17-35/2.8
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We continue out tour of the ground level at the Val-Duchesse castle (see earlier posts).
Our next stop is the Flemish Room. Typical for this dining room are the oak paneling extending into bookshelves and the fireplace with screw-shaped marble column, Delft ceramic tiles and a bas-relief on top. The stained glass windows here carry scenes from Lafontaine’s fables. Also note the intricate ceiling and the checkered floor.
The Flemish Room leads on to the majestic Gothic Hall, topped by an arched ceiling. A wooden winding staircase leads up to the first floor. The floor tiles feature a labyrinth pattern. The many decorations – sculptures, carvings, paintings, stained glass windows - feature scenes from the history of the priory.
Gear notes: D700, 13-35/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 16/2.8
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Back with some more images from the Val-Duchesse castle shoot. We’ll start our indoors discovery tour at the ground floor.
The first room to explore is the Golden Room, a Louis XVI style salon, loaded with fine moldings, and featuring an impressive mirror over the marble fireplace. Above the glass doors, you find the monograms of Charles-Henri Dietrich (a Brussels banker and businessman who acquired the castle in 1903) and of Edmond de Vigne (the architect overseeing the restoration work in 1904-07).
Next comes the Dutch Room, decorated with typical blue rosette and chocolate-brown speckled tiles in Delft porcelain. The five stained glass windows flooding this room with daylight illustrate adages by Jacob Cats, a 16th century Dutch poet, humorist, jurist and politician. Also remarkable is the black marble fireplace with white marble geometric motives.
All the above overview images are the result of my (by now) proven exposure blending technique, combining 5 to 9 shots in post processing for a still natural looking HDR rendering.
More beautiful places to discover in follow-up posts!
Gear notes: D700, 17-35/2.8, 24-70/2.8
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On more than one occasion, I was offered the opportunity to shoot in exclusive locations that normally remain inaccessible to mere mortals: a good friend of mine has a very special gift for opening doors to such exquisite sites. This time, he brought us to the Castle of Val-Duchesse (Kasteel van Hertoginnedal), at the outskirts of Brussels, a famous site in recent Belgian and European political history.
The history of Val-Duchesse started in 1262, when Adelaide (Aleydis)of Burgundy, Duchess of Brabant, widow of Henry III, Duke of Brabant founded a priory for women (hence the “Valley of the Duchess” name). It was the first such priory in the Low
Countries that followed the rule of Saint Dominic; Saint Thomas of Aquin is said to have been a guest there. The priory further flourished and gained considerable wealth thanks to the generous gifts of numerous royal persons and noble families. In 1650 a wall was erected to protect the diverse edifices of the priory.
The present-day castle in Louis XVI style was added as a residence for the prioress in 1780, under the rule of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. Today the castle is owned by the Belgian Royal Trust, and operated by the federal department of Foreign Affairs.
Val-Duchesse has played an important role as a venue for major negotiations in Belgian and European politics after World War II. The castle was the setting for one of the great moments in European history, when in the autumn of 1956 six heads of state (from France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux) met to draft the text of the Treaty of Rome, leading to the foundation of the European Economic Community in 1958.
Also, over the years, countless ‘historical’ decisions have been taken by Belgian leaders meeting in the Val-Duchesse castle. These include the language legislation of 1962-63 (establishing four language areas in Belgium) and the federal government coalition talks in 2007.
Upcoming blog posts will take us through some of the magnificent rooms of the Val-Duchesse castle.
Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8, 17-35/2.8 - Fuji X100
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