Ypres Cloth Hall Illustration
I created this illustration using Staedtler Fineliners on 300gsm Fabriano Paper.
Constructed between 1200 and 1304, the Cloth Hall was the beating heart of Ypres' thriving cloth industry. This Gothic masterpiece, featuring a breathtaking 70-meter belfry, housed merchants, weavers, and traders engaged in the lucrative wool and cloth trade.
I created this illustration for a book I am currently illustrating on the First World War.
At the start of the 20th Century, Belgium was caught between France and Germany when war was declared in 1914 and Ypres emerged as a vital strategic point. Its location near the English Channel made it crucial for both sides. The Germans sought a breakthrough to the Channel ports, while the Allies aimed to prevent encirclement and maintain a connection with the coast. This struggle resulted in not one, but five distinct battles fought around Ypres between 1914 and 1918. The Cloth Hall, once a symbol of peace and prosperity, became a target for German artillery due to its prominence in the landscape. By the end of the war, the building had been reduced to rubble.