# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, Flemish]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary In the Late Gothic period the wealthy towns and cities in the Netherlands placed great value on high church towers, which became virtual skyscrapers, the architectural symbols of the towns and their citizens. Façades with two towers tend to be the exception in the Netherlands. The collegiate church at Aire-sur-la-Lys was founded by Baldwin V, Count of Flanders \(1012-1067\) The town between 1127 and 1710 belonged to County of Flanders, to the County of Artois and later was ruled by the Burgundians and the Spanish. The tower of the church constructed between 1569 an 1634, imitates the large church towers built in the 15th century. It was partly rebuilt in the 18th century, nevertheless it remains indebted in its structure to the principles of late medieval architecture. The photo shows the tower. ## Related artworks - [Belfry]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()