The Marc Sleen Museum (french: Musée Marc Sleen, nl, Marc Sleen Museum) is a museum located 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, dedicated to the work of Belgian comics artist

Marc Sleen Marcel Honoree Nestor ( ridder) Neels (30 December 1922 – 6 November 2016), known as Marc Sleen, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was mostly known for his comic '' The Adventures of Nero and Co.'', but also created gag comics like '' Piet Fluwijn ...

, who is known for his series ''

The Adventures of Nero ''The Adventures of Nero'' or ''Nero'' was a Belgian comic strip drawn by Marc Sleen and the name of its main character. The original title ranged from ''De Avonturen van Detectief Van Zwam'' in 1947 to ''De Avonturen van Nero en zijn Hoed'' ...

'', ''

Piet Fluwijn en Bolleke ''Piet Fluwijn en Bolleke'' was a Belgian gag-a-day comic strip series drawn by Marc Sleen from 1944 until 1965. It was continued by artists Hurey and Jean-Pol until 1974. Concept ''Piet Fluwijn en Bolleke'' was a classic family comic strip, dra ...

'' and ''

De Lustige Kapoentjes ''De Lustige Kapoentjes'' (literally: ''"The Joyful Rascals"'') was a long-running Flemish comic book series, which existed under different titles and was drawn by different artists, among whom Marc Sleen (''"The Lustige Kapoentjes"'') and Willy V ...

''. It is located in front of the

Belgian Comic Strip Center The Belgian Comic Strip Center (french: Centre belge de la Bande dessinée; nl, Belgisch Stripcentrum) is a museum in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to Belgian comics. It is located at 20, /, in an Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta, ...

at 33–35, /, and is served by

Brussels-Congress railway station Brussels-Congress railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Congrès, nl, Station Brussel-Congres), officially Brussels-Congress (french: Bruxelles-Congrès, link=no, nl, Brussel-Congres, link=no) is a train stop on the North–South connec ...

History

On 19 June 2009, the Marc Sleen Museum was opened to the public, with the presence of

, as well as King Albert II. The king was a fan of ''Nero'' since his youth and both him and his brother King

Baudouin of Belgium Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his de ...

learned Dutch by reading ''Nero''. The museum's location is symbolic, since

started his career as cartoonist while working for the newspaper ''

De Nieuwe Gids ''De Nieuwe Gids'' (meaning ''The New Guide'' in English) was a Dutch illustrated literary periodical which was published from 1885 to 1943. It played an important role in promoting the literary movement of the 1880s. Its contents covered a wide ...

'' in 1947, whose office was located on the Rue des Sables. The original building was built by architects Fernand Brunfaut and his son Maxime Brunfaut.

Exhibition

The museum is managed by the Marc Sleen Foundation ( nl, Stichting Marc Sleen). It exhibits original art work and memorabilia by

, as well as an overview of his long and versatile career, including his nature documentaries which he made for the Belgian TV show ''Allemaal Beestjes'' ("All kinds of animals"). About 15,000 drawings are archived in the cellars and available for temporary exhibitions. The museum has a reading corner for children. Comic book albums by Sleen can be bought as well. One specific story, ''Het Spook uit de Zandstraat'' ("The Ghost of the ") has been translated into English, French and German, and is made available as a souvenir for tourists. Temporary exhibitions are also organised. The museum is open every day, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., except on Mondays.

Marc Sleen Route

The museum organises a special tourists' route in Brussels, based on several locations that appeared in ''Nero'' comic book albums, including the Black Tower, Palace of Justice,

Chapel Church nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Kapellekerk , native_name_lang = , image = Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Kapellekerk Brussel 30-4-2017 08-20-19.JPG , imagesize = , imagealt = , caption = Chapel ...

, Sablon/Zavel,

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, Grand-Place/Grote Markt and ''

Manneken Pis ''Manneken Pis'' (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it wa ...

''. One has to make an appointment, though.

Sources

External links

* {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Belgium Museums in Brussels Art museums established in 2009 2009 establishments in Belgium Cartooning museums Belgian comics City of Brussels The Adventures of Nero