''Les XX'' ( French; "''Les Vingt''"; ; ) was a group of twenty

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the

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 ...

lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years, they held an annual exhibition of their art; each year 20 other international artists were also invited to participate in their exhibition. Painters invited include Camille Pissarro (1887, 1889, 1891),

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

(1886, 1889),

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

(1887, 1889, 1891, 1892),

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

(1889, 1891),

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

(1890), and

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

(1890, 1891 retrospective). ''Les XX'' was in some ways a successor to another group, L'Essor. The rejection of Ensor's '' The Oyster Eater'' in 1883 by L'Essor Salon, following the earlier rejection by the Antwerp Salon, was one of the events that led to the formation of ''Les XX''. In 1893, the society of ''Les XX'' was transformed into "'' La Libre Esthétique''".

History

''Les XX'' was founded on 28 October 1883 in Brussels and held annual shows there between 1884 and 1893, usually in January–March. The group was founded by 11 artists who were unhappy with the conservative policies of both the official academic Salon and the internal bureaucracy of '' L'Essor'', under a governing committee of twenty members. Unlike ''L'Essor'' ('Soaring'), which had also been set up in opposition to the Salon, ''Les XX'' had no president or governing committee. Instead Octave Maus (a lawyer who was also an art critic and journalist) acted as the secretary of ''Les XX'', while other duties, including the organization of the annual exhibitions, were dispatched by a rotating committee of three members. A further nine artists were invited to join to bring the group membership of ''Les XX'' to twenty. In addition to the exhibits of its Belgian members, foreign artists were also invited to exhibit. There was a close tie between art, music and literature among the ''Les XX'' artists. During the exhibitions, there were literary lectures and discussions, and performances of new classical music, which from 1888 were organised by

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

, with from 1889 until the end in 1893 very frequent performances by the Quatuor Ysaÿe. Concerts included recently composed music by Claude Debussy, Ernest Chausson and Gabriel Fauré. Leading exponents of the Symbolist movement who gave lectures include Stéphane Mallarmé, Théodore de Wyzewa and

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

. Together with Maus, the influential jurist Edmond Picard and the Belgian poet Emile Verhaeren provided the driving force behind an associated periodical, ''

L'Art Moderne ''L'Art Moderne'' was a weekly review of the arts and literature published in Brussels from March 1881 until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. It was established by a number of lawyers based in Brussels who felt the need for a r ...

'', which was started in 1881. This publication aggressively defended ''Les XX'' from attacks by critics and members of the visiting public. Picard polemically fomented tensions both with the artistic establishment and within ''Les XX''. By 1887, six of the more conservative original members had left, sometimes under pressure from Picard and Maus, to be replaced by artists who were more sympathetic to the cause. Altogether, ''Les XX'' had 32 members during the ten years of its existence.

Eleven founding members

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic g ...

1860–1949 (member until 1893) *

Théo van Rysselberghe Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. Biography Early years Born ...

1862–1926 (member until 1893) * Fernand Khnopff 1858–1921 (member until 1893) *

Alfred William Finch Alfred William (Willy) Finch (1854 –1930) was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style. Born in Brussels to British parents, he spent most of his creative life in Finland. Life and work Alfred William Finch ...

Frantz Charlet __NOTOC__ Frantz Charlet (1862–1928) was a Belgian painter, etcher, and lithographer. Early life and career An Impressionist, he was one of the founding members of the group Les XX. He studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Bruss ...

1862–1928 * Paul Du Bois *

Charles Goethals Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

c. 1853–85 *

Darío de Regoyos Darío de Regoyos y Valdés (November 1, 1857 – October 29, 1913) was a Spanish painter. He was notable for contributing to "the renewal of modern Spanish painting". A student of Carlos de Haes at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Ferna ...

(Spanish) * Willy Schlobach 1864–1951 *

Guillaume Van Strydonck Guillaume Van Strydonck (10 December 1861, Namsos – 2 July 1937, Saint-Gilles) was a Belgian painter. He was initially a realist, but later turned to impressionism. Life and work Van Strydonck was born in Norway, where his father was emplo ...

1861–1937 * Rodolphe Wytsman 1860–1927 Oprichters Les XX

Nine invited members

* Guillaume Vogels * Achille Chainaye 1862–1915 * Jean Delvin 1853–1922 *

Jef Lambeaux Jef Lambeaux or Josef Lambeaux (14 January 18525 June 1908) was a Belgian sculptor. His best known work is '' Temple of Human Passions'', a colossal marble bas-relief. Early life and education Lambeaux was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on 14 January ...

* Périclès Pantazis (Greek) 1849–1884 *

Frans Simons Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is '' Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplo ...

1855–1919 *

Gustave Vanaise Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

1854–1902 * Piet Verhaert 1852–1908 * Theodoor Verstraete 1851–1907

Twelve later invited members

Félicien Rops Félicien Victor Joseph Rops (7 July 1833 – 23 August 1898) was a Belgian artist associated with Symbolism and the Parisian Fin-de Siecle. He was a painter, illustrator, caricaturist and a prolific and innovative print maker, particularly in ...

1833–1898 *

Georges Lemmen Georges Lemmen (1865–1916) was a neo-impressionist painter from Belgium. He was a member of Les XX from 1888. His works include ''The Beach at Heist'', ''Aline Marechal'' and ''Vase of Flowers''. Yvonne Serruys studied in his workshop in Brus ...

1865–1916 (member starting 1888) *

George Minne George (Georges) Minne (born ''Georgius Joannes Leonardus Minne''; 30 August 1866 – 18 February 1941) was a Belgian artist and sculptor famous for his idealized depictions of man's inner spiritual conflicts, including the "Kneeling Youth" scu ...

1866–1941 * Anna Boch 1848–1926 (member 1885–1893: only female member) *

Henry van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium ...

(member starting 1888) * Guillaume Charlier * Henry De Groux * Robert Picard (artist) b. 1870 * Jan Toorop (Dutch) * Odilon Redon (French) *

Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style. Biography Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. ...

(French) * Isidore Verheyden (member 1884–1888)

The ten Annual Exhibitions of ''Les XX'', 1884–1893

The 1884, 1885 and 1886 exhibitions were held at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. The later exhibitions were all held at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

of Brussels.

1884

The first of ten annual exhibitions was held on 2 February at the '' Palais des Beaux-Arts'' in Brussels. Apart from the members of ''Les XX'', there were exhibitions by Adriaan Jozef Heymans, Jan Stobbaerts, Auguste Rodin,

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

and Max Liebermann. Catulle Mendès discussed Richard Wagner.

1885

Exhibition of Xavier Mellery and Jan Toorop.

1886

Exhibits of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Odilon Redon and

, including ''Le pont d'Argenteuil'' and ''La Manneporte à Étretat''. First performance of

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

's ''Violon Sonata''.

1887

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot and Georges-Pierre Seurat exhibit, with Seurat and Signac present at the opening. The major work shown is Seurat's '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte''. In July, ''Les XX'' had an exhibition in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

1888

Exhibits of Albert Dubois-Pillet,

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in th ...

, Henri-Edmond Cross,

and Odilon Redon. First performance of

's ''Poème des Montagnes''. Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was one of the invited writers.

1889

Camille Pissarro, Maximilien Luce, Henri-Edmond Cross, Gustave Caillebotte,

, Albert Dubois-Pillet,

and

exhibit. Included is Gauguin's masterpiece '' Vision After the Sermon''. At the first concert, the music was composed by

, Pierre de Bréville, Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Fauré and Julien Tiersot. The music was played in part by the Quatuor Ysaÿe, as happened in the next few years. The second concert was centered on Gabriel Fauré, with additional music by d'Indy, Charles Bordes and Henri Duparc. In July, ''Les XX'' had an exhibition in

1890

Exhibits by invited artists including Odilon Redon,

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...

and

. During the 1890 expo Vincent van Gogh exhibited six paintings and sold '' The Red Vineyard'', the only painting he sold during his lifetime. Three concerts were given, with the first centered on Belgian composers like Auguste Dupont, Léon Soubre, Joseph Jacob, Paul Gilson and Gustave Huberti. The second and third concert focused on the French composers, with works by Fauré, Franck, d'Indy, and Castillon in the second concert.

performed his ''Symphonie Cévenole'' in the third concert. Other composers whose work was performed were Fauré, Franck, Bréville, Bordes, Chausson,

Albéric Magnard Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard (; 9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer, sometimes referred to as a "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers. Magnard became a national hero in ...

and

Paul Vidal Paul Antonin Vidal (16 June 1863 – 9 April 1931) was a French composer, conductor and music teacher mainly active in Paris.Charlton D. Paul Vidal. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and caree ...

. Stéphane Mallarmé gave a lecture on Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam; Edmond Picard discusses

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

, Emile Verhaeren and

Charles Van Lerberghe Charles van Lerberghe (21 October 1861 – 26 October 1907) was a Belgian author who wrote in French and was particularly identified with the symbolist movement. The growing atheism and anticlerical stance evident in his later work made it popula ...

1891

Exhibitions of

, Camille Pissarro,

, and

Jules Chéret Jules Chéret (31 May 1836 – 23 September 1932) was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of ''Belle Époque'' poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster. Early life and career Born in Paris to a poor but ...

. First exhibitions of decorative art, including posters and book illustrations by

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

's first attempts at ceramics, and three vases and a statue by

. Retrospective for

. Catalogue cover designed by

. Memorial concert for

and a second concert with new work by

, and work by other followers of Franck, including Bordes, Duparc, Bréville, Chausson, Tiersot, Vidal, and Camille Benoît. Also played was work by Fauré and Emmanuel Chabrier. A third concert focused on Russian composers, with works by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Shcherbachov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Kopylov.

1892

Pottery exhibited by Auguste Delaherche, and embroidery designs by

Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium ...

. Invited artists include Maximilien Luce, Léo Gausson and

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...

. Retrospective of

with 18 paintings, including ''La Cirque'' and ''La Parade''. Three concert evenings were organised. The first concert presented the first version of Paul Gilson's ''La Mer'', Guillaume Lekeu's ''Andromède'' and music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov, and Franz Servais. The second showcased music by Alexis de Castillon,

, Charles Bordes, Louis de Serres and Emmanuel Chabrier. The final concert included the first performance of

's ''Suite in D'' and Ernest Chausson's ''Concert''. The other music played was composed by Gabriel Fauré, Charles Bordes, Camille Chevillard and

1893

More design was exhibited, including a table by

, embroidery by

, and objects by Alexandre Charpentier.

discussed the contemporary poetry. The first concert was centered on work by César Franck and the first performance of Ernest Chausson's ''Poème de l'amour et la mer'' The second concert contained works by d'Indy, Castillon, Fauré, Chabrier and Bréville. The third and final concert featured the première of Guillaume Lekeu's ''Violin Sonata'', with also performances of compositions by Charles Smulders, Paul Gilson, Dorsan van Reysschoot and Alexis de Castillon.

Notes

External links

Biografisch Lexicon: Plastisch Kunst in België
{{DEFAULTSORT:XX, Les Belgian artist groups and collectives 19th-century art groups 1883 establishments in Belgium 1893 disestablishments in Belgium Art exhibitions in Belgium Belgian art