Secrets of M: The brotherhood of the Sacrament of Miracle

Secrets of M

The brotherhood of the Sacrament of Miracle

Up until the beginning of 2024, you can see 'Moved' at M, a collection presentation on how religion affected people and objects , from devotion to pilgrimages. One of the eye-catchers is a gigantic canvas: ‘The masters of the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament of Leuven'. You wouldn't know it by looking at it hanging in that quiet museum room, but the work's history is very eventful.

Marjan Debaene (Head of Collections): ‘The Blessed Sacrament’, as it is officially called, is a very important relic that has been in Leuven since 1380. There is a whole story behind it. As you may know, according to Catholic doctrine, you are not allowed to take communion if you have sinned. You must first go to confession. In 1374, Jan van Keulen is said to have received communion without confession. He immediately went temporarily blind and the host in his mouth turned into a bleeding piece of meat. This all took place in the small town of Middelburg in Zeeland, on the first Sunday of Lent. In the same year, the archbishop of Cologne had the incarnate host brought to his city, where it was worshipped in the Augustinian church. In 1380, the Leuven Augustinians received half of the relic. A flourishing devotion immediately developed around it."

De broederschap van het Sacrament van Mirakel, M Leuven — 'De meesters van de Broederschap van het Sacrament van Mirakel van Leuven', toegeschreven aan Wolfgang de Smet, 1639, M Leuven, foto Dominique Provost voor meemoo. Art in Flanders

Torch

"The brotherhood of the sacrament should be imagined as a kind of religious association. The members had to keep and guard the relic and organise its worship: having candles and pilgrim vases made, holding processions and services... You paid a kind of membership fee to be allowed to belong to the club. The leaders, the masters of the brotherhood, were elected from among the notables of Leuven and appointed by the prior of the Augustinian monastery."

"In 1639, the brotherhood ordered three paintings to illustrate the history of the relic: the miracle in Middelburg, the solemn transfer of the relic to Leuven and the adoration in the Augustinian monastery in Leuven. The finale, the adoration, is also a group portrait of the masters of the brotherhood: the six men dressed in black holding a torch. It is probably from the hand of the Leuven painter Wolfgang de Smet."

Not kosher

"In 1795, this part of the world was incorporated by France. The revolutionary government expelled the monastic orders, and the veneration of the Blessed Sacrament moved to the St. James' Church on the Brusselsestraat. That is where the paintings of the fraternity also ended up."

"Fast-forward to our time. St. James's Church was closed in 1964 due to structural problems. It stood empty for years, and at the turn of the century thieves stole 'The Brotherhood' from the church. It turned up in 2003 at a restorer. He soon realised that something was not kosher. Further investigation revealed that it was the stolen canvas, and the painting was brought to our museum. Rolled up, because it had been removed from the stretcher for the restoration - the stretcher is the frame behind the canvas. For the collection presentation 'Moved', we were able to have the canvas restored further. Afterwards, it was put back on a new aluminium stretcher here in the museum.

Deep hole

"Now, it's a fairly large canvas, about 2.5 by 3.5 metres, and large canvases don’t fit everywhere. This was taken into account when the museum was constructed in 2009. We have a so-called tall depository, where we can keep all pieces that are too large for the regular depository. In fact, all it is is a double floor. But of course: these works still have to get in and out of the tall depository, and the lift is not two floors high."

"That's why there is a hatch in the ceiling of the tall depository. Using a hoist and a carrying system, we can lift the pieces to the ground floor of M. That is quite a challenge, because the hole under the hatch is about ten metres deep. Everyone has to secure themselves with climbing ropes before the hatch opens."

"From the ground floor, we can then take the work to the right room. Sometimes you can just manage with the lift, sometimes you have to use the stairs. If it is a really big painting, we have to take it by truck to another entrance of the museum."

Reliquary

"'The Brotherhood' is now hanging beautifully in the museum. Nearby is the 19th-century silver reliquary of the Blessed Sacrament. The Gothic original was lost in the French era, but is still depicted in the painting. If you compare the two, you can see that the 19th century silversmith made a very faithful copy. It has been quite a hassle to get 'The Brotherhood' in place, but it has paid off."

'Moved', until 31.03.2024 at M.