what a collector's item

The bronze sculpture “Amor in the Shell” by Edouard Fiers (1822-1894) is on display at the Dag Jan exhibition. This bronze sculpture depicts Cupid as a winged and mischievous boy. He lies naked in a shell resting on a fish, peeking around secretly. In front of him lie his familiar attributes, his bow and arrow. The sculpture is an ode to love. After all, Cupid is the god of love who pierces hearts with his bow and arrow. The fish is also a universal symbol of love. In 1932, the sculpture was exhibited for the first time as a new acquisition in the former Stedelijk Museum.

Here you can see one of Louise De Hem's earliest pastel sketches, a portrait study of an Arab. The sketch is signed at the top and dates from the period 1890-1891. Louise De Hem was living in Paris at the time, completing her training as an artist. Pastel would remain a favourite medium throughout the rest of her career.

During the week of 21 March 2022, archaeologists uncovered a landing stage and crane at the Lakenhallen. This unique find is marked with extreme precision on the historical wall map by Thevelin-Destreez from 1564. The wall map is on permanent display at the Yper Museum.

The Musée Rops in Namur is hosting a particularly interesting exhibition on the relationship between Belgian artists and the art market between 1850 and 1900, featuring work by Ieper. The exhibition is called Adjugé! and runs until 3 January 2021.

The Ypres Museum has acquired a beautiful engraving by Jan Thomas van Yperen, Rubens' right-hand man. The Ypres Museum now has two beautiful paintings, a watercolour copy, an etching and this beautiful engraving by Jan Thomas van Yperen in its collection. The new print is the oldest work in the series. The engraving was purchased from an art dealer in Dresden for 158 euros.

The Ypres Museum has acquired an original “Ouvrié” painting of Ypres. It is a beautiful, large watercolour, signed and dated: “Hôtel de ville d’Ypres, 18 Août 1848, Justin Ouvrié”.

The Ypres Museum has acquired a beautiful new work of art. Le Destin by Poperinge artist Louis Delbeke (1821-1891) is now part of the Ypres museum collection. Delbeke is best known for his murals in the Cloth Hall, which were unfortunately destroyed during the First World War. He painted this oil painting in 1866. In the same year, he exhibited it at the Brussels Salon. It then disappeared into private hands, until now.

This pair of beautiful leather boots from the riding school is now part of the collection. The Ypres Museum is delighted with this acquisition, as the number of objects relating to the city's equestrian history is rather limited. In the museum, photographs, a pastel by Louise De Hem and a saddle keep the memory of the riding school alive. These exceptionally well-preserved boots are a beautiful, tangible addition to this piece of Ypres history.

A roller coaster as heritage and museum piece? Why not! The beetle that pulled the legendary beetle track at the Bellewaerde amusement park in Ypres has been on display at the Yper Museum since 7 February 2023. It made its very last ride in November 2022. The Ypres Museum wouldn't be the Ypres Museum if they didn't immediately give the cute little car a name: Yvette Vitesse.

Cats inspire. And when cats and local artists find each other, that's interesting for the Yper Museum. With this philosophy in mind, two sculptures by Nick Ervinck were added to the collection. This artist from the region became intrigued by cats in the exhibition POES. How cats captivate humans. He created two sculptures especially for this exhibition, EGKLEAT and ONSEPOTS. The museum subsequently added them to its collection and they are now on display in the main exhibition.

Edouard Fiers was born in Ypres in 1822. In the 19th century, he became one of the most popular artists in Ypres. Unlike his colleagues Auguste Böhm and Louis Delbeke, Fiers resolutely chose sculpture as his medium. Our collection includes several sculptures by Fiers, including this beautiful bust, a self-portrait of the artist.

Every three years, the Cat Parade takes place in Ypres. It is a fixture in Ypres. Naturally, traces of the Cat Parade can also be found in our museum collection. We highlight one of them: the painting “Kattefeeste in Ieper” (Cat Festival in Ypres) by Albert Castelain from 1978.