A 17th-century artwork by sculptor Jan Van Delen will soon be seen again in Notre-Dame des Victoires at Sablon, Brussels, says the King Baudouin Foundation.
The marble sculpture entitled Charity was crafted between 1673 and 1678 by Van Delen. It was commissioned by Count Lamoral of the Tour et Taxis estate for his funeral chapel in the church. French revolutionaries stole this piece in 1794, after which it disappeared and was not returned in 1815.
In 2012, it surprisingly resurfaced in a Parisian apartment’s entrance and was auctioned in London. The Heritage Fund of the King Baudouin Foundation purchased the sculpture for €450,000, returning it to Belgium after over 200 years of disappearance. One of the Foundation’s goals is to preserve Belgian heritage, making these artworks available to the public.
Following this acquisition, the artwork was displayed at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels. It has now returned to its original location, the fully restored Sainte-Ursule’s chapel in the Notre-Dame des Victoires at Sablon church.
The funeral chapel of the princes of La Tour et Taxis will be was inaugurated on Thursday by the Management Committee of the Notre-Dame du Sablon church, the King Baudouin Foundation, the City of Brussels and the Fund of Friends of Notre-Dame des Victoires.
