The Institut Saint-Luc () is an arts school in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It consists of six departments, with a total of 2,200 students and 430 employees, spread over five locations in

Ixelles ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the muni ...

and Saint-Gilles.

History

The school was founded by members of the

Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

, a French order created in 1680 by

Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Jean-Baptiste de La Salle () (; 30 April 1651 – 7 April 1719) was a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He is a saint of the Catholic Church and the patron saint for t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Different Saint-Luc institutes were founded all over Belgium with the first in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

in 1863. The first school in Brussels was founded in 1882 in

Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

and then was later relocated to

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

in 1887. Work began in 1904 for a new institute in Saint-Gilles, then called the Institut Jean Béthune, and had only 14 students. Construction finished four years later in 1908. The location is currently still in use and underwent renovations and expansions in 1995.

Organisation

The school (called both Institut and Instituts, depending on the point of view) is divided into six departments: *ESA, the École Supérieure des Arts (Higher School of Arts), with 700 students: studies include a bachelor's (three years), a master's (one additional year), and a specialized master's (one additional year). *ERG, th
École de Recherche Graphique
School for Graphical Research), with 420 students: studies include a bachelor's (three years), master's (one additional year), and specialized master's (one additional year). *ISURU, the Institute Supérieure d'Urbanisme et de Rénovation Urbaine (Higher Institute for Urbanism and Urban Renovation), with 85 students: created in 1947, is a post-graduate school with a three-year course (evening studies). *ISES, The Institut Saint-Luc d'Enseignement Secondaire (Saint-Luc Secondary School), with 610 students. *EPS, the École de Promotion Sociale (School for Social Promotion), with 340 students.

The comics division

In 1969, comics artist

Eddy Paape Edouard Paape (3 July 1920 – 12 May 2012), commonly known as Eddy Paape, was a Belgian comics artist best known for illustrating the series ''Luc Orient''. Biography Eddy Paape was born in Grivegnée (now a part of Liège), Belgium in 1920 ...

, who had worked for 20 years for the two leading Franco-Belgian comics magazines '' Spirou'' and ''

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

'', started a course in comics, with the support of

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

, an alumnus of the Institut. It was the first of its kind in Belgium and was soon developed into a full bachelor's program. Eddy Paape was followed by Claude Renard in 1976. The course soon become a well-known breeding ground for new Belgian talent. From 1975 and on, the program produced the magazine ''Le 9ème rêve'' (''The 9th Dream'', a reference commonly used in Belgium and France describing comics as the ninth art form). In 1978, the magazine received the Award for the best promotion of comics from the French

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lu ...

François Schuiten François Schuiten (; born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series '' Les Cités Obscures''. Biography François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "François Sch ...

, an alumni, also taught at the school. Between 1984 and 2006, 286 students received a Bachelor's in Comics. About 50% of the students later work in the comics industry.

Notable alumni

* Kitty Crowther *

Jean-Michel Folon Jean-Michel Folon (1 March 1934 – 20 October 2005) was a Belgian artist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor. Early life Folon was born on 1 March 1934 in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium in 1934. He studied architecture at the Institut Saint-Luc. C ...

André Franquin André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...

Philippe Lafontaine Philippe Lafontaine (born 24 May 1955) is a Belgian singer and composer. Biography Lafontaine was born in Gosselies, Belgium. He spent a short time in a Jesuit college that he left at 17 to pursue a career in music. His first successes came fro ...

Xavier Lust Xavier Lust is a furniture designer and sculptor based in Brussels. He is best known for the unique technique of shaping metal that he uses to make furniture. The simple and original shapes created by folding and curving metal sheets without a moul ...

Midam Michel Ledent (born 16 May 1963), known by the pseudonym Midam, is a Belgian comics author, best known for ''Kid Paddle''. Biography Michel Ledent was born in Etterbeek near Brussels in 1963. He studied illustration and interior decoration at t ...

Guy Peellaert Guy Peellaert (6 April 1934 – 17 November 2008) was a Belgian artist, painter, illustrator, comic artist and photographer, most famous for the book ''Rock Dreams'', and his album covers for rock artists like David Bowie (''Diamond Dogs'') and the ...

Picha Jean-Paul "Picha" Walravens (Brussels, Belgium, 2 July 1942) is a Belgian cartoonist, comics artist, animator and film director. He is most famous for his adult animated films, such as '' Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle''.

Benoît Poelvoorde Benoît Poelvoorde (, ; born 22 September 1964) is a Belgian actor and comedian. Early life His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still a minor. He attended the Jesuit Boarding School of Godinne before ...

Stephan Vanfleteren Stephan Vanfleteren (born 1969) is a Belgian photographer, best known for his portraits in black and white and his depictions of Belgium and abroad. Biography Stephan Vanfleteren was born in Kortrijk in 1969,Francis Bonaert Baron Francis Bonaert (7 September 1914 – 15 June 2012) was a Belgian architect. Biography Francis Bonaert was born in Kortrijk, Belgium, and died in Brussels. Initially he pursued classical studies in Latin and Greek at Maredsous Abb ...

Alumni from the comics division

Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of B ...

Jo-El Azara Joseph Franz Hedwig Loeckx is a Belgian comic book artist. He works under the pseudonym of Jo-El Azara. Important series he has worked on include ''Clifton'' and ''Taka Takata''. Biography Loeckx was born in Drogenbos, Flemish Brabant, near Bruss ...

* Pierre Bailly * Philippe Berthet * Frédéric Bézian * Antonio Cossu * Denis Deprez * Chantal de Spiegeleer * Franz Drappier *

Philippe Francq Philippe Francq (; born 13 December 1961) is a Belgian comic book artist, best known for the series ''Largo Winch''. Biography Philippe Francq was born in Etterbeek in 1961.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Philippe Francq". In België gestript, pp. 111 ...

Pascal Garray Pascal Garray (12 December 1965 – 17 January 2017) was a Belgian comics artist and cartoonist best known for his work on Peyo's ''The Smurfs'' and ''Benoît Brisefer'' (known in Dutch as ''Steven Sterk''). Pascal Garray studied comic art at ...

* André Geerts * Alain Goffin *

Bernard Hislaire Bernard Hislaire (born 11 January 1957) is a Belgian comic book creator. He is also known as Sylaire and as Yslaire, his current artist name. Biography Bernard Hislaire was born in 1957 in Brussels, Belgium.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Hislaire". In ...

* Ilan Manouach *

Jean-David Morvan Morvan in 2017. Jean-David Morvan (born 28 November 1969 in Reims, Marne, France) is a French comics author. Morvan studied arts at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels. Morvan started out as a comics artist, but soon realised that his true str ...

Frank Pé Frank Pé, often signing solely as Frank (15 July 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist, best known for ''Broussaille'' and ''Zoo''. Biography Frank Pé was born in Ixelles in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Frank". In België gestript, pp. 112-113 ...

* Plantu *

Benoît Sokal Benoît Sokal (28 June 1954 – 28 May 2021) was a Belgian comic artist and video game developer, best known for his comics series ''Inspector Canardo'', and the ''Syberia'' adventure game franchise. Biography Benoît Sokal was born in Brussel ...

* Yves Swolfs

Notes

External links

HomepageHomepage of EPSHomepage of ERGHomepage of ESAHomepage of ISURUHomepage of SECInterview
in ActuaBD for the 30 years of the Comics department {{authority control 1904 establishments in Belgium Art schools in Belgium Belgian comics Schools in Brussels Architecture schools Ixelles Saint-Gilles, Belgium