Pandreitje

The Pandreitje was one of the most vibrant neighborhoods of the city of Bruges in the 18th century. And that was captured by the painter Jan Garemijn in 1778. Jan Garemijn usually worked on commission from the higher bourgeoisie. His patrons were little concerned with the poverty that was indeed part of the old trading city. So Garemijn went to the affluent neighborhoods, like the Pandrei. Garemijn painted the Pandrei as the hipster neighborhood of his time. What he barely showed: the open sewer under the meat house and the grimy prison in the background. The only one who stands out is the shameless urinator. He painted the new bourgeois who gathered in front of the latest and trendiest meat house in the city. In the foreground of "Het Pandreitje in Brugge," women with a healthy blush trade in vegetables and fruits. They sell leeks, turnips, carrots, artichokes, cabbages, and grapes. All food that was still mainly on the menu of the bourgeoisie. To the right, a street singer is in full action. He sings a narrative song about a recent crime and points to a drawing that dramatically illustrates the whole story. At the same time, he is selling his song lyrics to the market visitors. In the background, butchers trade their meat in the "Meat House of the Wild Butchers." The Bruges gentleman of better standing examines the displayed meats in the open portico of the meat hall. Further on, two reserved monks leave the square toward the incoming light of the low autumn sun. It is undoubtedly autumn, evident from the offered merchandise with freshly harvested seasonal vegetables. At least, for those who find it.

The painting itself hangs just a few streets away, in the Groeningemuseum. Garemijn is mostly remembered as a conventional painter in a period when Flemish art had few highlights. His life was somewhat less orthodox. Chronicles show that the painter married his maidservant at the age of 79. She would have been 24 at that time.

Dromos