The Musée L or ''Musée universitaire de Louvain'', French for: Louvain University Museum, is a Belgian

university museum A university museum is a repository of collections run by a university, typically founded to aid teaching and research within the institution of higher learning. The Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford in England is an early example, or ...

of the

University of Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

(UCLouvain) located in

Louvain-la-Neuve Louvain-la-Neuve (; French for "New Leuven"; ) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was built to house th ...

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

, Belgium. It is the first large museum that brings together the heritage of a Belgian university and presents it to the general public.^,

History

History of the museum

Museum of Louvain-la-Neuve

In the United States, all major universities have their own museums, but they are rare in Europe. In this context,

innovated in 1979 thanks to Professor Ignace Vandevivere who convinced the academic authorities of the

UCLouvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

to build a museum. The Museum of the Higher Institute of Archaeology and Art History, known as the Museum of Louvain-la-Neuve, was inaugurated on 22 November 1979 within the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, at the Erasmus College building (n°1, Blaise Pascal square). It is based on the collections of the ''Institut supérieur d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art'', but also presents works by artist Jo Delahaut as well as sculptures by Félix Roulin presented in the

open air Open air, open-air or openair may refer to: *''Open Air'', a BBC television program *Open-air cinema or outdoor cinema *Open-air concert, a concert taking place outside *Open-air museum, a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of- ...

, with metal tears revealing fragments of human bodies. The museum was one of the only university museums in Belgium open to the public and had a 1,000 m² space within the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts. It aims to be a place for interdisciplinary encounters, a creative centre for contemporary artists and a space for animation and education. In 1994, by decision of the UCLouvain board of directors, the museum (managed by the non-profit organisation ''Musée Art Présent Passé'') was detached from the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts and the Department of Archaeology and Art History to become a general scientific entity within the university.

Aborted projects for a new museum

In 1990, the director of the ''Ignace Vandevivere Museum'' planned to build a new museum on the shores of the Louvain-la-Neuve lake and asked the Japanese architect Risho Kurokawa to draft a project. The project foundered in 1996 and gave way to a more modest sketch next to the Aula Magna, designed by

Philippe Samyn Sir Philippe Samyn (born 1 September 1948) is a Belgian architect, engineer and urbanist. He is the creator of over 686 projects, 250 of which are built. His architecture is characterized by a holistic approach, investigating new ways of constru ...

, around 2000. This 4,000 m² museum should have been constructed in 2003 but unlike its neighboring Aula Magna, was never built. In 2006, the founder of the

stockbroking A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ma ...

firm Petercam and UCLouvain

alumnus Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

Jean Peterbroeck, a generous patron, offered 10 million euros for the construction of the new museum. In 2008, on the basis of an international competition in which 38 projects were submitted, the project of the American architects

Perkins+Will Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid- and southern England. Another derivation com ...

associated with the Belgian bureau Émile Verhaegen was chosen. This new 5,000 m² museum would have been located below the Aula Magna, with a superb view on the lake. It was planned to be a

low-energy building A low-energy house is characterized by an energy-efficient design and technical features which enable it to provide high living standards and comfort with low energy consumption and carbon emissions. Traditional heating and active cooling systems ...

, completely curved to follow the contours of the lake, and equipped with a sloping

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

. The UCLouvain sought additional donations to reach a total budget of 18 million euros and obtained the town planning permit in October 2011, when the Peterbroeck family then announced the withdrawal of its donation (withdrawal in which the death of Jean Peterbroeck in May 2011 certainly played a role). File:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Collège Erasme - 01.jpg, The Erasmus College on Blaise Pascal square, location of the old Museum of Louvain-la-Neuve. File:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Aula Magna - 01.jpg, The Aula Magna, next to which two new projects of museums were aborted, in 2003 and 2011.

Musée L

Having quadrupled its heritage in thirty years, which had become too narrow and lacking in visibility, the University of Louvain had to find a solution after the aborted projects of 1996, 2003 and 2011. In 2012, Rector Bruno Delvaux explained that the UCLouvain immediately set about seeking another solution, inspired on the actions of its sister university

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

and the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

. The idea that emerged was to use the iconic Science and Technology Library, located on the ''Place des Sciences'', and transform it in a museum while moving the library to the nearby Lavoisier building. In the end, the library was transferred to the Van Helmont building. The former Science and Technology Library is a building in a

brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

built by the architect André Jacqmain between 1970 and 1975, during the construction of the city of

. It has been one of the most emblematic buildings in the university city since its construction, and was completely renovated from 2015 to 2017 to house the new museum, with Jacqmain's permission. The renovation work begun in May 2015 and lasted two and a half years. The project cost €10.4 million: €7.4 million for the renovation of the building, €2.3 million for the

scenography Scenography is the practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography can be defined as the combination of technological and material stagecrafts to represent, enact, and produce a sense of plac ...

(designed by the Dutch agency Kinkorn) and €0.7 million for the redevelopment of the museum area. The project is financed by

, by the public authorities (including the province of Walloon Brabant, which contributed more than one million euros) and by private patrons (companies and individuals). The new museum is called ''Musée L'': "L" explained as "Louvain" but also "L" as the shape of the square or as the opening wings (''ailes'' in French), according to director Anne Querinjean, in reference to the

Column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s and

Pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s in the shape of an "L" or wings that decorate the Place des Sciences as well as the facade and interior of the Science and Technology Library. As the museum of Louvain-la-Neuve, the name is also a reference to its sister city

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), 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. The municipalit ...

's (Louvain in French) Museum M. The ''Musée L'' is inaugurated on 14 November 2017 in the presence of Princess Astrid,

Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve had a total population of 29,521. The total area is 32.96 km2 which giv ...

Mayor Jean-Luc Roland, UCLouvain Rector

Vincent Blondel Vincent Daniel Blondel (born 28 April 1965) is a Belgian professor of applied mathematics and former rector of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) and a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Blondel's rese ...

and his three predecessors (Marcel Crochet, Bernard Coulie and Bruno Delvaux) as well as numerous local, provincial, regional and federal authorities. It opened to the public on 18 November 2017. File:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Place des Sciences - 34.jpg, Logo of the ''Musée L'' on the ''Place des Sciences''. File:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Bibliothèque des Sciences - 24.jpg, The building's columns. File:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Bibliothèque des Sciences - 06.jpg, The

s of the old Sciences and Technology Library, which lead to the museum's name. File:Belgique - Louvain-la-Neuve - Bibliothèque des Sciences - 20.jpg, Access to Musée is via the rear facade.

Collections history

The history of the museum's collections can be divided into three phases:Informational panel at the entry of the museum. First, from 1835 to the 1960s, there was no unified museum but the faculties of the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

has vast collections, including works from classical and Christian

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

, casts of works from Antiquity and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

zoological Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

collections,

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

collections and collections relating to the

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

:Université catholique de Louvain – Muse – Musée
/ref> * 1864: creation of the Archaeological Museum of Louvain by Canon

Edmond Reusens Edmond Henri Joseph Reusens (25 April 1831 in Wijnegem, Antwerp – 25 December 1903 in Leuven) was a Belgian archeologist and historian. Biography Sent to the University of Leuven immediately after his ordination to the priesthood ( ...

. * 1905: collection of the first objects of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. * 1909: constitution of an archaeology collection at the Faculty of Theology (creating the Bible Museum). * 1914: founding of an African ethnography collection about

for the Institute of Commerce and a collection of classical antiquities. * 1922: acquisition of a large proportion of Susan Minns'

Danse Macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...

collection * 1920–1935: installation of the Museum of

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

, the Museum of

Classical Art Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...

and the Museum of

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

and

Oriental Art The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. The major regions of Asia include East Asia, East, Southeast Asia, Southeast, South Asia, South, Central Asia, C ...

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

's University Hall. In 1966, two years before the split of the

into a

French-speaking French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

and a Dutch-speaking entity, an important legacy of the Brussels industrialist Frans Van Hamme composed of sculptures and paintings from the 14@th to the 18@th century called for the creation of a museum. After the 1968 university split, the Museum of Louvain-la-Neuve was founded, whose collections were enriched over time: * 1975: donation by

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Adolphe Mignot of

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

and Southern Italian

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

. * 1986, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2014: donation by Foundation for Contemporary Belgian Art founder Serge Goyens de Heusch of nearly 2,000 works of Belgian

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

; Paintings and an archive collection on art in Belgium in the 20@th century. * 1990: various

bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

of Dr. Charles Delsemme. * 1994: donation by the Eugène Rouir and Suzanne Lenoir foundation: more than 1,500 prints from the 15@th to the 20@th century. * 1996 – 2010: donation by the Boyadjian family:

naive art Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of Deontology, moral idealism. A ''na ...

and

popular piety Popular piety in Christianity is an expression of faith which avails of certain cultural elements proper to a specific environment which is capable of interpreting and questioning in a lively and effective manner the sensibilities of those who liv ...

. * 2002: various donations of drawings by contemporary Belgian artists; of the Van Ooteghem legacy; donations from various artists. Thirdly, during the transition period between the Museum of Louvain-la-Neuve and the Musée L, the collections were further enriched: * 2013: clinical anthropology collection of Robert Steichen. * 2015:

calculating machine A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or a simulation like an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators were comparable in s ...

, donated by Luc de Brabandere.

Description

Collections

On an area of 3,830 m² accessible to the public, the Musée L presents a permanent exhibition of more than 800 pieces, chosen from among the 32,000 pieces in its reserve, which come from the collections of UCLouvain professors and significant private donations. The collections cover fields as varied as printmaking ( Dürer,

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of Frans van Dyck, a wealt ...

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

...), Belgian 20@th century art ( Magritte, Alechinski) and sculpture. The museum does not only present works of art: it also presents the scientific collections of UCLouvain, consisting of specimens of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

objects or machines and inventions with a scientific vocation. The collections are presented through five themes: "to be surprised, to question, to transmit, to be moved and to contemplate". The museum also has temporary exhibitions and 1,200 m² of inventory.

Laboratory for the study of works of art

The Laboratory for the Study of Works of Art, founded in the early 1960s by Professor Roger Van Schoute, has as its main objective the study of the museum's collection of

easel An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, painters traditionally use an easel to support a painting while they work on it, normally stan ...

paintings in order to improve expertise in conservation science and, in some cases, with preventive conservation projects. It also offers an expert consultant service to private individuals.

Public infrastructure

The museum's facilities also include a library, a seminar room, two educational areas, a bookshop, a restaurant, a tea room and a picnic area. An auditorium called ''Yves & Rainy du Monceau'' was inaugurated in May 2018. The museum houses workshop spaces that allow school and other audiences to exercise their creativity.

Affiliations

The Musée L is a member of several organisations: * French-speaking association of Belgian museums *

International Council of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, ...

* International committee "University museums and collections" * Museums and society in Wallonia organisation * International Association for the Conservation and Promotion of Mouldings

References

{{authority control Museums established in 2017 Decorative arts museums in Belgium Archaeological museums in Belgium Musee L Musee L Musee L