Tomb of Lamoral, Count of Thurn and Taxis
by BEVEREN, Mattheus van, Marble
Some time after Van Beveren had attained his mastership in Antwerp in 1649-50, he moved to Brussels. It was there that in 1678 he archived his best known work, the tomb of Lamoral, Count of Thurn and Taxis, for the Thurn and Taxis chapel in the church of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ten Zavel (Eglise Notre-Dame au Sablon) in Brussels. It was a grandiose project to which various artists contributed. This was the first known tomb in the Southern Netherlands which was planned as an allegorical conceit. It shows how the fame of the dead prince will outlive him, here illustrated as a lively battle between Virtue and Time, while Fame sounds the praises on her trumpet.
Both the decorative elegance of the figures is related to Van Dyck’s sensibility, and the composition is also influenced by Van Dyck.