Grave marker of Pieter Lansaem and Elisabeth Pauwelins

One of the highlights of the Ypres Museum is a large copper tombstone belonging to the wealthy Ypres residents Pieter Lansaem (+1489) and his wife Liesbeth Pauwelin (+1487). The museum recently acquired a rare publication about this remarkable piece.

The couple

Pieter Lansaem and his wife lived in Ypres during the 15th century. They were a wealthy and prosperous couple who belonged to the city's absolute elite. When they died in 1487 (Elisabeth) and 1489 (Pieter), the whole city mourned them.

The couple were buried with all honours in the chapel of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwehospitaal (Our Lady Hospital). Masses were held in all the churches in the city. Next to their grave is a foundation plaque commemorating all the donations the couple made to churches, hospitals and other institutions in Ypres.

The tombstone

No expense was spared for their final resting place either. Unfortunately, the stone tombstone has not been preserved, but the copper band around it has. On the left and right are the two coats of arms of both spouses. In the corners are the symbols of the four evangelists. A scroll with the epitaph runs across the entire tombstone. The main part of the tombstone shows the stages of human life. In sixteen scenes, you see a boy growing up to become a young man and then a successful businessman. His life ends as an old man and the last image shows the grave.

No fewer than seven of the sixteen images are about childhood. That is just under half. People at that time were very focused on caring for their children. One possible explanation for this is the high infant mortality rate. About a third of children did not survive their first year. From the 14th century onwards, we also see more and more material attention being paid to the little ones. There was an abundance of toys, such as spinning tops, stilts and nets for catching butterflies. These scenes are still very recognisable today and can also be found on the tombstone.

The grave and the gravestone were originally located in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwhospitaal on the Grote Markt in Ypres. It was the British-Belgian art historian James Weale who rediscovered the grave in the nineteenth century. He immediately pointed out its importance and beauty. He removed the gravestone from the chapel floor and displayed it on a side wall. During the First World War, the gravestone was lost, but the copper band was saved. To make the many scenes more legible, Weale made a “rub-print” of the copper band.

There was a great deal of interest in such grave plaques, particularly in England. In 1884, W.F. Creeny published his monumental book: A book of facsimiles of monumental brasses of the Continent of Europe. This impressive book (58 cm by 39 cm) contains a reproduction of Weale's “rub-print” and tells us more about the Ypres gravestone. The great importance of this masterpiece is also emphasised by the fact that the author chose the Ypres plate as the frontispiece of his book.

The Ypres Museum recently acquired a copy of this rare book. Anyone who wishes to consult it can do so at the Knowledge Centre of the Ypres Museum, Sint-Maartensplein 3, Ypres.

A 3D scan of this work has also been made.

View it here