M – Museum Leuven or simply M is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. ...

in the inner city of

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

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 ...

, which was officially opened in 2009. The museum has a collection of some 46,000 works, which range from late-Gothic paintings and sculptures to 16th century local artists such as

Jan Rombouts the Elder Jan Rombouts the Elder, Jan Rombouts (I) (c. 1480 in Leuven – 1535 in Leuven), was a Flemish Renaissance painter, glass painter, draftsman, printmaker and glass designer. The subjects of his work are stories from the Old and New Testament a ...

and Josse van der Baren to 19th-century paintings and sculptures by various Flemish masters including

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 ...

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 Janua ...

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" sc ...

History

M – Museum Leuven continues the municipal museum operations that started in the early 19th century. In 1823, the first museum was founded on the second floor of the Leuven City Hall. About one century later, the collection was moved to the former private residence of the mayor Leopold Vander Kelen in the historic center of Leuven. This location is now the principal exhibition space of M Museum. Before it was opened in 2009, the M Museum building was renovated after a design by Belgian architect Stéphane Beel. The design integrates historical features and sleek contemporary architecture around a pretty courtyard. The total area of the museum is 13,500 square meters. In addition to its exhibition space, the museum building houses the M-café, the M-shop, an auditorium, a children's workshop, a courtyard and workshop spaces.

Permanent collection and exhibitions

M Museum manages the

art collection A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, repla ...

, which is the property of the city of Leuven. This collection has grown from what originally was an 18th-century room of curiosities. Through gifts, the art collection grew into a full-fledged collection offering an overview of the art production in Leuven and

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Br ...

from the Middle Ages to the present. The historical collection of M has as its core paintings and objects from the late Gothic period (15th and 16th century) and a collection of 19th century paintings. The M collection includes masterpieces by

Dirk Bouts Dieric Bouts (born c. 1415 – 6 May 1475) was an Early Netherlandish painter. Bouts may have studied under Rogier van der Weyden, and his work was influenced by van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. He worked in Leuven from 1457 (or possibly earlier ...

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

, Constantin Meunier, Jef Lambeaux and others. M is also a platform for discovering contemporary art as the collection includes painting, sculpture, photography, video, film and architecture. The museum organises many activities throughout the year such as themed exhibitions, family Sundays, children's workshops, tours, lectures, book presentations and framework of the exhibition offer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:M - Museum Leuven 2009 establishments in Belgium Museums established in 2009 Art museums and galleries in Belgium Museums in Leuven Buildings and structures in Leuven