If you wander to the southern end of the Abbaye de la Cambre, you will find a horse rearing in bronze and the man beside him holding fast. This is Le Dompteur de Cheval, by Thomas Vinçotte, one of Belgium’s great sculptors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Vinçotte had a gift for capturing power and grace in metal. He studied in Antwerp, spent time in Paris, and returned home to become the man behind some of Belgium’s most iconic figures, including the equestrian monument to Leopold II in Brussels and the elegant allegorical statues of Industry and Commerce on the Bourse.
Here, at La Cambre, his horse tamer feels perfectly placed. This was once a quiet monastic valley, then an artists’ refuge, and now a calm green pause in the city. The sculpture speaks of mastery, strength, and the fine line between wildness and civilisation. It fits. It belongs. And if you catch it in morning light, you can almost feel the breath of the horse lifting from the bronze.
Worth a visit next time you stroll by the ponds. Take a moment. Let it work on you.
I’ll be writing more fully about M. Vinçotte in a future Newsletter.