Tomb of Bishop Eugenius-Albertus d'Allamont

Delcour’s master work is the Tomb of Bishop Eugenius-Albertus d’Allamont. It forms part of the monumental assemblage of episcopal tombs in the choir of Ghent Cathedral, deliberately and organically linked to the high altar in their layout, which had been started by J�r�me Duquesnoy the Younger in 1651-54 with his Tomb of Bishop Triest. Like Triest’s tomb, Delcour’s monument has three elements, with the bishop kneeling on his tomb between an archangel and the Virgin Mary. Unlike Duquesnoy, he has brought the three figures into a lively and dramatic composition for which Bernini’s emotional characterization clearly laid down the guidelines. Individual details and motifs show that Bernini had left his stamp on Delcour’s style. For example, the skeleton holding a scroll appearing before the kneeling bishop is a striking reminder of the similar motif on the tomb of Urban VIII in St Peter’s.