The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums 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. They include six museums: the

Oldmasters Museum The Oldmasters Museum (french: Musée Oldmasters, nl, Oldmasters Museum) is an art museum in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to European painters from the 15th to the 18th centuries. It is one of the constituent museums of the Royal Museums of Fi ...

, the

Magritte Museum The Magritte Museum (french: Musée Magritte, nl, Magritte Museum) is an art museum in central Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to the work of the Belgian surrealist artist, René Magritte. It is one of the constituent museums of the Royal Museu ...

, the

Fin-de-Siècle Museum The Fin-de-Siècle Museum (french: Musée Fin-de-Siècle, nl, Fin-de-Siècle Museum, "Museum of the Turn of the Century") is a museum in Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to the full spectrum of the arts of the period between 1884, when the ...

, the Modern Museum, the Antoine Wiertz Museum and the Constantin Meunier Museum. The Royal Museums contains over 20,000 drawings, sculptures, and paintings, covering a period extending from the early 15th century to the present, such as those of Flemish old masters like Bruegel,

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

, Jacob Jordaens, and

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

, making it the most popular art institution and most visited museum complex in Belgium. The Magritte Museum houses the world's largest collection of the works of the

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...

History

Early history

The museum was founded in 1801 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and opened in 1803 as the Museum of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, link=no, nl, Museum voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel, link=no), occupying fourteen rooms of the former

Palace of Charles of Lorraine The Palace of Charles of Lorraine (french: Palais de Charles de Lorraine, nl, Paleis van Karel van Lotharingen) is a neoclassical palace in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Its construction started in 1757 to serve as the residence of ...

, known as the "Old Court". The first collection, the core of the current collections of Ancient Art, consisted of a selection of "old deposits", works of art seized by the French Republic but abandoned (1798), increased by two shipments from Paris (1802 and 1811), and returned works taken away by the Republic (1815). Later, during the Dutch period,

King William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went ...

sponsored an expansion of the collection (1817 and 1819) and had two wings built on the current / (the so-called Palace of National Industry, opened in 1830). Following Belgian Independence, the museum, which had belonged to the City of Brussels since 1811, was ceded to the Belgian State in 1841. The transfer of the Contemporary Art collection from the Ministry of the Interior in 1834 is at the origin of the Modern Art section. In 1845, it was decided, by

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

, that the museum was to receive works of art of deceased and living Belgian artists. A national commission was established to select important works of art. The first president of the commission was the Count de Beaufort. Other members were

Gustaf Wappers Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers (23 August 18036 December 1874) was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers.Note: The painter is known by one ...

François-Joseph Navez François-Joseph Navez (16 November 1787 – 12 October 1869) was a Belgian neo-classical painter. Biography Navez was born in Charleroi. He was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David. He spent five years in Italy between 1817 and 1822. Between 1835 ...

Guillaume Geefs Guillaume Geefs (10 September 1805 – 19 January 1883), also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological su ...

Eugène Simonis Louis-Eugène Simonis (11 July 1810, in Liège – 11 July 1893, in Koekelberg) was a Belgian sculptor. Career Simonis studied under François-Joseph Dewandre at the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Liège and at the age of nineteen went to I ...

Tilman-François Suys Tilman-François Suys (in French) or Tieleman Frans Suys (in Dutch) (1 July 1783 – 22 July 1864) was a Belgian architect who also worked in the Netherlands. Biography Suys completed his architectural education in Paris, where he studied un ...

and

Luigi Calamatta ] Luigi Antoine Josephe Calamatta (21 June 1801 – 8 March 1869 in Milan) was an Italian painter and engraver. He was born at Civitavecchia, in the Papal States. Biography Orphaned early, he went to live with an uncle, then moved to Rome to live ...

. Many of these founding members were active in the

Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...

. Until 1878, the Brussels Salon, a periodic exhibition of work by living artists, took place in the former apartments of Charles Alexander of Lorraine. This situation was not ideal because the permanent collection had to be temporarily stored or covered during the exhibition. In addition, the exhibitors complained that all paintings were not lit equally well. Renovation works were carried out so that in 1830 a Great Gallery could open with a skylight. Nevertheless, low-hanging works were still difficult to see. In 1851, the exhibition was held in a temporary construction in the courtyard, before returning to its traditional location until 1881, when the first rooms of the new Museum of Fine Arts could be used. This museum remained the location for all subsequent editions. The works of the Old Masters were finally moved from the Palace of Charles of Lorraine to the / in 1887, giving a new purpose to Alphonse Balat's Palace of Fine Arts (french: Palais des Beaux-Arts, link=no, nl, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten, link=no), which had opened in 1880 (not to be confused with the current

Centre for Fine Arts The Centre for Fine Arts (french: Palais des Beaux-Arts, nl, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or PSK in Dutch. The b ...

). File:Salon1830bxl.jpg, The Brussels Salon of 1830 in the

, rendered by

Jean-Baptiste Madou Jean-Baptiste Madou (3 February 1796 – 31 March 1877) was a Belgian painter and lithographer. Life Madou was born in Brussels. He studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts and was a pupil of Pierre Joseph Célestin François. While ...

File:StroobantsLorreinen.png, The palace in 1846, illustration from ''Guide pittoresque dans Bruxelles'' File:Museum Bruxelles 1880 Dumas.png, Map of the palace and Museums district in 1880

20th and 21st centuries

The museum continued to expand in subsequent years, benefitting from increases through purchases, donations or bequests. In 1913, the De Grez donation enriched the collection with more than 4,000 works dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries. In 1919, the museum changed its name to become the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, link=no, nl, Museum voor Schone Kunsten van België, link=no). This name was changed again in 1927 to its current name: the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, link=no, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, link=no). The museum's redevelopment by the architect from 1923 to 1930 allowed a new presentation of the collections. The Museum of Modern Art was closed in 1959 and the "Old Court" was partially demolished in 1960 for the construction of the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR). From 1962 to 1978, the temporary exhibition halls of the five-level neoclassical Hôtel du Lotto (also known as the Hôtel Altenloh), on the Place Royale/Koningsplein, were used. The extension of the Museum of Ancient Art combined with that of the National Archives of Belgium, behind the facades of the former Palace of National Industry, allowed the creation of a new set of rooms and an auditorium. Planned in 1962 by the architects Roland Delers and Jacques Bellemans, it was inaugurated in phases in 1972 and 1974. Towards the Place Royale, the Hôtel Argenteau, the Hôtel Gresham and the Hôtel Altenloh were incorporated in turn in 1965, 1967 and 1969 respectively. An in-depth renovation of Balat's palace was carried out in successive stages from 1977. At the same time, in 1978, the construction of the underground part of the Museum of Modern Art began, with an entrance via the Hôtel Altenloh. The complex was inaugurated in 1984. In 2004, the museum embarked on a restructuring programme with the aim of making its collections more accessible and reaching a wider audience. The museum's curator,

Michel Draguet Michel Draguet (born 23 January 1964) is a Belgian art historian, professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles, and the director and CEO of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium since May 2005. Draguet is a member of the board of the feder ...

, wished to bring together different collections of federal institutions and set up specific museums that better highlighted a particular sub-collection. In 2009, the

was established for this purpose. In 2013, the

opened in the underground halls, which had housed the Museum of Modern Art since 1984. The closure of the Museum of Modern Art, however, was met with much protest, but this also marked the start of the concretisation of a new international museum for modern and

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

at a different location in Brussels. This new museum should be able to open by 2022. The collection would consist of the works of art from the closed museum, from loans of private collectors and from the collections of large banking institutions. File:Bruxelles (1910) (14750595166).jpg, The Palace of Fine Arts, the museum's second (current) location, in 1910 File:Bruxelles (1910) (14586897020).jpg, Interior of the Palace of Fine Arts in 1910 File:BRX-musée-magritte.2.JPG, Installation of the

in the Hôtel du Lotto, on the Place Royale/Koningsplein, in 2008

Museums

There are six museums connected with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium; two of them are located in the main building—the

or Museum of Ancient Art—whose collections cover European art until 1750, and the Museum of Modern Art. These museums are situated in the downtown Royal Quarter, on the

Coudenberg The Palace of Coudenberg (french: Palais du Coudenberg, nl, Coudenbergpaleis) was a royal residence situated on the Coudenberg or Koudenberg (; Dutch for "Cold Hill"), a small hill in what is today the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. F ...

, in Brussels. The

, opened in 2009, and

, opened in 2013, are adjacent to the main building. The smaller Constantin Meunier Museum and the Antoine Wiertz Museum, dedicated to these two Belgian artists, are located a few kilometers from the city centre.

Oldmasters Museum

The Oldmasters Museum has an extensive collection of European paintings, sculptures and drawings from the 15th to the 18th centuries. The bulk of the collection is formed around

Flemish painting Flemish painting flourished from the early 15th century until the 17th century, gradually becoming distinct from the painting of the rest of the Low Countries, especially the modern Netherlands. In the early period, up to about 1520, the painting ...

, presented in chronological order. For example, there are valuable panels by the Flemish Primitives (including Bruegel,

(''the Master of Flémalle''),

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

, and Jacob Jordaens). The museum is also proud of its " Rubens Room", which houses more than twenty paintings by the artist. The painting ''

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus ''Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'' is a painting in oil on canvas measuring currently displayed in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. It was long thought to be by the leading painter of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance pai ...

'', long-attributed to Bruegel, is located there and forms the subject of

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

's famous poem '' Musée des Beaux Arts'', named after the museum. There are also constant temporary exhibitions. File:The main hall of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium 1.jpg, View from the upper floor of the

File:KMSKB 2011 Room Jordaens.jpg, The Jacob Jordaens Room File:Pieter Bruegel de Oude - De val van Icarus.jpg, ''

'', Pieter Bruegel the Elder,

Magritte Museum

The Magritte Museum has one of the richest collections of paintings by the Belgian

artist

, including some 200 original paintings, drawings and sculptures, such as ''The Return'', ''Scheherazade'' and '' The Empire of Light''. The collection is the result of astute purchases and generous donations, mostly coming from the collection of the artist's widow, Georgette Magritte, and from Irene Hamoir Scutenaire, who was his primary collector. Inaugurated on 20 May 2009, the museum opened on 2 June 2009. It is housed in the Hôtel du Lotto, on the Place Royale, a stone's throw away from the Oldmasters Museum. File:Musée Magritte, Brussels, in June 2016.jpg, Hôtel du Lotto or Hôtel Altenloh, home of the

File:20191019 bruxelles076.jpg, Entrance File:20191019 bruxelles100.jpg, Exhibition space

Fin-de-Siècle Museum

Inaugurated on 6 December 2013, the Fin-de-Siècle Museum presents collections of works of art from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when Brussels was a unique artistic crossroads and the capital of Art Nouveau. Artists represented in the museum's collection include

Constantin Meunier Constantin Meunier (12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a Belgian painter and sculptor. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and miner to an icon of moder ...

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 ...

Henri Evenepoel Henri-Jacques-Edouard Evenepoel (3 October 1872 in Nice – 27 December 1899 in Paris) was a Belgian artist whose most important works are associated with Fauvism. Life and career Evenepoel first studied art in Brussels at the Académie Royale ...

, Fernand Khnopff, Leon Spilliaert,

Jusepe de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) was a painter and printmaker, who along with Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring ...

, Jacques-Louis David and

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 ...

. The museum is housed in the Hôtel des Brasseurs or Hôtel Gresham, right next to the Oldmasters Museum, also on the Place Royale. File:Hôtel Gresham - extérieur 5.JPG, Hôtel des Brasseurs or Hôtel Gresham, home of the

File:Govaerts Gresham Hall 1.jpg, Entrance File:Toulouse-Lautrec - Le Divan japonais, INHA.jpg, ''Divan Japonais'',

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 the ...

, 1893 File:Louis Majorelle-Vitrine bibliothèque nénuphar.jpg, Waterlily bookcase,

Louis Majorelle Louis-Jean-Sylvestre Majorelle, usually known simply as Louis Majorelle, (26 September 1859 – 15 January 1926) was a French decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs, in the French tradition of the ''ébéniste''. ...

, 1902

Wiertz Museum

The life and work of

Antoine Wiertz Antoine Joseph Wiertz (22 February 1806 – 18 June 1865) was a Belgian painter, sculptor, lithographer and art writer. He is known for his religious, historical, and allegorical works and portraits. He was an eccentric figure who originally was ...

are honoured in the artist's former studio at 62, / 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 munic ...

, in the heart of the

Leopold Quarter The Leopold Quarter (french: Quartier Léopold, Dutch: ) is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today, the term is sometimes confused with the European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

, near

Brussels-Luxembourg railway station Brussels-Luxembourg railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Luxembourg, nl, Station Brussel-Luxemburg), officially Brussels-Luxembourg (french: Bruxelles-Luxembourg, link=no, nl, Brussel-Luxemburg, link=no), is a railway station in the Eu ...

. This unique museum offers a striking view of the monumental paintings, statues and sketches marked by the Belgian romantic movement. The construction of this workshop-museum was agreed in 1850 between Wiertz and the

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

. During the year following the artist's death, the entire collection of works then in his studio was bequeathed to the Belgian State. Since 1868, the Wiertz Museum has been part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. File:Musée Wiertz, Bruxelles.JPG, Entrance to the Wiertz Museum File:Main Hall of the Wiertz Museum 2.jpg, Main hall File:Le Triomphe de la lumière by Antoine Wiertz.jpg, ''The Triumph of Light'',

, 1862–1870

Meunier Museum

Located in Constantin Meunier's former house and workshop at 59, / in Ixelles, the Meunier Museum houses 150 works and documents by the realist painter and sculptor. Meunier had this beautiful house-studio built towards the end of his life. The house was acquired by the Belgian State in 1936 and opened to the public in 1939. Since 1986, it has been attached to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and subsequently renovated. File:Elsene, Abdijstraat 59 (Voorgevel) (Eclectische stijl) (Oeuvre van architect Ernest Delune).jpg, Meunier Museum File:Main Hall of the Meunier Museum – No. 2.jpg, Main hall

Directors

The chief curators or directors of the museum have been: * 1947–1957: Paul Fierens * 1957–1961: Claire Janson * 1961–1984:

Philippe Roberts-Jones Baron Philippe Roberts-Jones (8 November 1924 – 9 August 2016) was a Belgian art historian who was the head of conservation of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. A member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgiu ...

* 1985–1989: Henri Pauwels * 2005–present:

Visitors

For many years now, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium has been the most popular art institution in Belgium. The museums had a total of approximately 715,000 visitors in 2010. This puts the museum in the top 100 most visited museums in the world and makes it the most visited museum complex in Belgium. Thanks to the opening of the

, the number of unique visitors has remarkably increased since 2009. In 2015, the Museum had its best attended year so far with a total of 767,355 visitors. The Magritte Museum received about 425,000 visitors in 2010, making it the most successful part of the museums. This strategy was accompanied by a significant increase in corporate funding. From 2005 until 2017, the number of visitors has doubled and the turnover tripled, thereby reducing the State contribution from 54.4% of the global budget to 32%. This was achieved during a period of very severe budgetary cuts: 11% in 2013 and 2014, 30% for the period 2015–2019.

References

Notes

External links

* (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

)
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within Google Arts & Culture * {{Authority control Museums in Brussels Art museums and galleries in Belgium Order of Arts and Letters of Spain recipients Art museums established in 1887 1887 establishments in Belgium Museum associations and consortia Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage City of Brussels