''L'Art Moderne'' was a weekly review of the arts and literature published in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

from March 1881 until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in August 1914. It was established by a number of lawyers based in Brussels who felt the need for a regular overview of the cultural life of the capital. The leading figures in the founding group were Edmond Picard and Octave Maus.Jane Block, "Les XX and La Libre Esthétique", in ''Impressionism to Symbolism: The Belgian Avant-Garde, 1880-1900'', edited by MaryAnne Stevens with Robert Hoozee (Royal Academy of Arts, London, in association with Ludion Press, Ghent, 1994), p. 41. The poet and art critic

Émile Verhaeren Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren (; 21 May 1855 – 27 November 1916) was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language. He was one of the founders of the school of Symbolism and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Lit ...

(also a lawyer) soon became a frequent contributor. Each issue was eight pages long, and reviews were unsigned. Initially the review's editorial line opposed "

Art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of (), a French slogan from the latter half of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that 'true' art is utterly independent of all social values and utilitarian functions, b ...

" (promoted by the rival ''

La Jeune Belgique ''La Jeune Belgique'' (meaning ''The Young Belgium'' in English) was a Belgian literary society and movement that published a French-language literary review ''La Jeune Belgique'' between 1880 and 1897. Both the society and magazine were founded b ...

'') under the alternative slogan ''l'art social'' ("social art"), insisting that art should serve progressive social and political purposes. This stance was later softened. Despite the differences in editorial emphasis, several contributors wrote for both reviews. ''L'Art Moderne'' was closely involved in promoting two ''

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

'' Belgian art movements, Les XX and La Libre Esthétique.

References

External links

Digitised issues
(Digithèque de l'Université libre de Bruxelles) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Art moderne 1881 establishments in Belgium 1914 disestablishments in Belgium Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in Belgium French-language magazines Magazines established in 1881 Magazines disestablished in 1914 Magazines published in Brussels Visual arts magazines Weekly magazines published in Belgium