Digitising newspapers on a large scale involves many considerations. Which copies do you select from millions of non-digitised newspapers? What about the paper’s acidification, which makes newspapers so fragile? And how do you make everything searchable? Meemoo and Flanders Heritage Library are digitising 630,000 newspapers as part of the GIVE project. You can read all about the entire process, from A to Z, here.
Organisations such as museums, heritage societies and universities store vast amounts of precious archival materials. Over recent years, the service organisation meemoo has been meticulously digitising and archiving its wealth of audio and visual content. And with the GIVE project, meemoo is also writing the next chapter: using artificial intelligence to enhance the searchability of this rich source of information. Discover how the three technologies are being employed below.
The unique Brabantian hour and calendar dial from around 1500 narrates, like a large and meticulously painted picture book, the tales of the zodiac, the months and the children of the planets.
According to an ancient Persian tale, Sisamnes was a corrupt judge who was flayed alive by order of King Cambyses. In the upper right corner of the panel, Otanes sits as a judge on the skin of his father.
Central Panel (from a dismantled triptych) depicting the legend of Saint Lucia. Three scenes are separated by slender columns with a coat of arms at the base. To the left: a divided shield, on the right side azure a silver dove accompanied by three silver petals with a bud or, arranged 2 and 1, on the left side sable three bars or, the chief or a lion gules. To the right: a divided shield, on the right side azure a silver dove accompanied by three silver petals with a bud or, arranged 2 and 1, on the left side azure a chevron sable accompanied by three buckets of gold. The scene on the left shows Lucia with her miraculously healed mother distributing alms to the poor. In the centre, the Christian Lucia is brought before the pagan Paschasius who commands her to make a sacrifice to the emperor, which Lucia refuses. Therefore, on the right, she is taken to a brothel, but miraculously this cannot be accomplished; even the oxen, through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, cannot pull her forward. Above the executioner’s head, the Bruges towers of the Belfry and the Church of Our Lady are recognisable. In the central scene, the same coats of arms as mentioned at the pillars are displayed in the windows. On the edge of the canopy is written: ‘THIS WAS DONE IN THE YEAR 1480’. The panel is set in a black painted frame with a gilded edge. The story of Saint Lucia, a Christian woman condemned to prostitution who suddenly became so heavy that not even a thousand oxen could move her, takes place in Syracuse. Here, on the right scene, we recognise 15th century Bruges. This important painting is the only dated work by this anonymous master from whom it derives its nickname. It also appears to be his earliest known work and bears the typical characteristics of his entire oeuvre: a predilection for architectural elements, the almost scientific attention to flowers, the slender women with their oval faces with light, slit eyes beneath domed eyelids, the stiffly depicted wavy hair, the broad and clichéd faces of the male figures with their large closed eyes and fleshy mouths, the harsh colour palette. Based on these characteristics, other works can be attributed to him. The painting connects this master with important Flemish painters like Dirk Bouts, in whose environment he may have been trained.
This is a rare and intriguing document due to its high reliability and the exceptional precision with which the island of Walcheren is depicted. Alongside the ‘Antverpia Mercatorum’ from 1515 by Cornelis Anthonisz. in 1544 and the map of Amsterdam by Pieter Bast from 1597, no other document from the 16th century is known to display such an abundant representation of the fishing industry activity in the Scheldt estuary. Some vessels, such as the pink, are illustrated for the first time. This monumental drawing is attributed to Antoon van den Wijngaerde, although it bears no signature. Owing to its high quality and reliability, the Panorama of Zeeland holds significant artistic value.
‘A Dull Gret (or ‘Mad Meg’) who commits a robbery for Hell, looks terribly bewildered, and is dressed eccentrically.’ This is how Karel van Mander described this renowned panel by Pieter Bruegel in his ‘Schilderboeck’ from 1604, which at the time was about forty years old. Perhaps even Van Mander himself no longer knew exactly what it represented and meant. Its enigmas have been preserved to this day. What is beyond dispute is that there is a ‘hidden’ allegorical and/or religious meaning behind it, and that the message is pessimistic. Despite – or because of? – its mysteries, the apocalyptic-looking Dull Gret is a work that continues to fascinate. The great art connoisseur Max Friedländer aptly called it ‘a volcanic painting’. Bizarre ruins, hybrid monster creatures, brawls, strange ‘ships’, a barren area, the horizon in a scorching glow: the whole shows a fantastic hellish condition. Amidst the chaos, a disproportionately fanatical-looking and powerfully striding woman catches the eye: Dull Gret. She is armoured and carries a sword, eating utensils and a money chest.
Dull Gret is a narrative painting in the finest Flemish tradition: the various ‘episodes’ and figures illustrate the main theme. Perhaps Bruegel was denouncing two human traits: Madness (in the 16th century, this concept stood for rage, anger, gluttony, lust, greed and ambition) and Folly (symbolised by Dull Gret)? And perhaps in this way, he was commenting on the political and religious situations in the confusing 16th century?
This work is a significant source for the collective memory as it was commissioned by the alderman’s chamber of the Bruges Liberty to replace a ‘Laatste Oordeel’ (Last Judgement) by Gilbert Walins. The piece is set in its original frame and is marked with a monogram and date, therefore holding considerable calibration value. The autographic modello for the ‘Last Judgement’ (location unknown) has been preserved and serves as a key for further attributions. Pourbus based his Last Judgement on that of Michelangelo, but reversed the image, indicating the use of an engraving. However, the painter introduced a number of iconographic innovations, such as the compositional structure as a single dramatic entity, the absence of a heavenly gate, Boschian hellish monsters, and a burning city. Due to the edict of Charles V, it was forbidden to express criticism of the clergy. With his Last Judgement, Pourbus became a pioneer of a tradition that was followed in the second half of the 16th century by artists such as Frans Floris, Maarten de Vos, Chrispiaen van den Broeck, Jacob de Backer and Raphaël Coxie. This work therefore serves as a crucial link in the chain of artistic heritage.
This painting on marble holds exceptional value for our collective memory as it provides an interior view of the Jesuit church prior to the fire of 1718. It possesses distinctive artistic merit due to the technique and materials used. The marble substrate simultaneously evokes the marble of the church’s interior.