Starting in 1376, bricklayers, stonemasons, carpenters and slaters all worked on the construction of the city hall. The final result was a jewel of Gothic architecture, and a source of inspiration for all the Gothic town halls that were to be built thereafter, including those of Oudenaarde, Leuven and Brussels.
In the 14th century a part of the façade was adorned with statues of the Flemish counts and of religious figures, most of which were crafted in the studio of Jean de Valenciennes. The studio was also the source of the pedestals, the decorated bases upon which the statues stand.
You can see six of the original pedestals here, depicting scenes from the Bible or folklore.
At the top left we can see the musicians, next a scene of a woman and an elderly man and followed by the decanting of the wine.
On the left of the next row is the washing of the feet, Adam and Eve and a depiction of the woman washing Jesus’ feet with her hair.
Today the pedestals are grey and weather-beaten, but originally – just like the statues – they were painted in magnificent shades of gold, vermillion, blue, green and ochre. Six of the statues were even painted by Jan van Eyck, the most famous of the Early Netherlandish painters. The statues were destroyed during the French Revolution.