Bruges – The Dead
1892
Fernand Khnopff’s dreamy sketch captures the melancholic soul of Bruges, a Belgian city famously dubbed 'The Dead City' in late 19th-century literature. A woman’s face, eyes closed in eternal sleep or deep reverie, floats on a sea of flowing hair beneath the ghostly arches of a bridge, flanked by sparse green leaves. This piece serves as a study for his larger works inspired by Georges Rodenbach’s novel *Bruges-la-Morte*, blending reality with a hazy, symbolic atmosphere where the city itself becomes a character of mourning. Khnopff, a leading Belgian Symbolist, often used his sister Marguerite as a model, adding a layer of intimate mystery to these haunting, silent landscapes.
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