Brussels Fine Arts Museum. royal museums of fine arts brussels

There are several museums along the way. In this article I will tell you about the Royal Museums fine arts in Brussels. Rather, it is a whole complex consisting of six museums.

Four in the center of Brussels:

*Museum old art.
A wonderful collection of old masters from the 15th to 18th centuries.
The bulk of this collection consists of paintings by South Netherlandish (Flemish) artists. The masterpieces of such masters as Rogier van der Weyden, Petrus Christus, Dirk Bouts, Hans Memling, Hieronymus Bosch, Lucas Cranach, Gerard David, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Rubens and others ...
The collection originated during French Revolution when many works of art were seized by the invaders. A significant part was transported to Paris, and from what was stored, the museum was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801. All confiscated valuables returned from Paris to Brussels only after the deposition of Napoleon. Since 1811 the museum became the property of the city of Brussels. With the emergence of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under King William I, the museum's funds expanded significantly.

Robert Campin. "Annunciation", 1420-1440

Jacob Jordanes. Satyr and peasants, 1620

*Museum contemporary art.
The contemporary art collection covers works from the late 18th century to the present day. The collection is based on works Belgian artists.
The famous painting by Jacques-Louis David - the death of Marat can be seen in the old part of the museum. The collection illustrates Belgian neoclassicism and is based on works dedicated to the Belgian Revolution and the founding of the country.
It is now presented to the public in the form of temporary exhibitions in the so-called "Patio" room. These allow regular rotation of contemporary art pieces.
The museum houses Salome by Alfred Stevens, the most famous representative Belgian impressionism. And also such famous works as "Russian Music" by James Ensor and "Tenderness of the Sphinx" by Fernand Khnopf are presented. Among the masters of the 19th century represented in the museum, the masterpieces of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Gustave Courbet and Henri Fantin-Latour stand out. french painting late XIX V. represented by "Portrait of Suzanne Bambridge" by Paul Gauguin, "Spring" by Georges Seurat, "Bay" by Paul Signac, "Two Disciples" by Edouard Vuillard, landscape by Maurice Vlaminck and sculpture by Auguste Rodin "Caryatid", "Portrait of a Peasant" by Vincent van Gogh (1885. ) and Still Life with Flowers by Lovis Corinth.

Jean Louis David. "Death of Marat", 1793

Gustav Wappers. "Episode of the September days", 1834

* Magritte Museum.
Opened in June 2009. In honor of the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte (November 21, 1898 – August 15, 1967). The museum's collection contains more than 200 works of oil on canvas, gouache, drawings, sculptures and painted objects, as well as advertising posters (he worked for many years as a poster and advertising artist in a paper factory), old photographs and films shot by Magritte himself.
At the end of the 20s, Magritte signed a contract with the Cento Gallery in Brussels and thus devoted himself entirely to painting. He creates surreal painting"The Lost Jockey", which he considered his first successful picture of this kind. In 1927 he arranges his first exhibition. However, critics recognize it as unsuccessful, and Magritte leaves for Paris, where he meets Andre Breton and joins his circle of surrealists. He acquires a signature style that makes his paintings recognizable. Upon returning to Brussels, he continues his work in a new style.
The museum is also a research center for the legacy of the surrealist artist.

*Museum of the end of the century (Fin de siècle).
The museum brings together works of the late 19th and early 20th century, the so-called "end of the century", mainly with an avant-garde character. Painting, sculpture and graphics, on the one hand, but also applied art, literature, photography, cinema and music on the other.
Mostly Belgian artists are represented, but also works by foreign masters that fit into the context. Works by artists who were members of the great progressive movements of Belgian artists of the time.

And two in the suburbs:

*Wirtz Museum
Wirtz (Antoine-Joseph Wiertz) - Belgian painter (1806-1865). In 1835 he wrote his first significant picture“The struggle of the Greeks with the Trojans for the possession of the corpse of Patroclus”, which was not accepted for an exhibition in Paris, but aroused great enthusiasm in Belgium. It was followed by: “The death of St. Dionysius", the triptych "The Entombment" (with the figures of Eve and Satan on the wings), "The Flight into Egypt", "The Revolt of the Angels" and best work artist, "The Triumph of Christ". The originality of the concept and composition, the vigor of colors, the bold play of light effects and the sweeping stroke of the brush gave the majority of Belgians a reason to look at Wirtz as the revivalist of their old national historical painting, as the direct heir of Rubens. The further, the more eccentric his stories became. For his works, mostly of enormous size, as well as for experiments in the application of matte painting invented by him, the Belgian government built him an extensive workshop in Brussels. Here Wirtz, who did not sell any of his paintings and existed only as portrait orders, collected all his, in his opinion, capital works and bequeathed them, together with the workshop itself, as a legacy to the Belgian people. Now this workshop is the Wirtz Museum. It stores up to 42 paintings, including the aforementioned six.

*Meunier Museum
The museum was opened in honor of Constantin Meunier (1831-1905) who was born and raised in a poor family of immigrants from the Belgian coal mining region Borinage. From childhood, he was familiar with the difficult social situation and often miserable existence of miners and their families. Meunier captured his impressions of the life of the mining region in plastic forms, demonstrating a man of labor as a harmoniously developed personality. The sculptor has developed such an image of a worker, which reflects his pride and strength, and who is not ashamed of his profession as a loader or docker. Recognizing some idealization with which Meunier created his heroes, one must also recognize his great historical merit in the fact that he was one of the first masters to make central theme his creativity of a person engaged in physical labor, showing him at the same time as a creator, full of inner dignity.

Among the streets of pastel-chocolate old Brussels lives a real great and immortal art. It is stored in the royal museums of fine arts, known throughout the world. This is a single system that stores and exposes priceless cultural treasures to the public. It includes museums of old and modern art located near the royal palace, as well as museums dedicated to creativity Wirtz and Meunier.

It seemed that there could be a more peaceful institution than Art Museum. But the history of these Belgian collections is closely connected with by no means peaceful events - wars and revolutions.

A bit of history:

These treasures were brought together by the French revolutionaries in 1794, part works of art moved to Paris. What remained, Napoleon ordered to collect in the former palace of the Austrian manager, and as a result, in 1803, a museum was opened there. After the overthrow of the emperor, the valuables taken to France were returned, and all the property came into the possession of the Belgian kings, who began to take care of replenishing the collections of paintings and sculptures with ancient and modern works.

2.
Museum exhibits

The old collection from 1887 is housed in a purpose-built building on the Rue de la Regens. And in the old Austrian palace there were works that were modern at that time. Already at the end of the last century, a building was added to the building to accommodate works created since 1900.

The Museum of Old Art contains luxurious collections of Flemish authors of the 15th-18th centuries: Campin, van der Weyden, Bouts, Memling, Bruegel the elder and younger, Rubens, van Dyck.

In the Dutch collection, Rembrandt, Hals, Bosch attract the most attention. Attention is also paid here to French and Italian painters - Lorrain, Robert, Greuze, Crivelli, Tentorelli, Tiepolo and Guardi. The paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder exhibited in the halls are widely known.

3.
One of the halls of the Royal Art Museum

The expositions of the Museum of Modern Art are presented primarily by the Belgians, such as Wirtz, Meunier, Stevens, Ensor, Knopf. But there are also famous Frenchmen here: Jacques Louis David, Ingres, Courbet, Fantin-Latour, Gauguin, Signac, Rodin, van Gogh, Corinth. Belgian and foreign surrealists are also gathered here: Magritte, Delvaux, Ernst, Dali.

In suburban Ixelles, the museum dedicated to Antoine Wirtz opened in 1868, and the museum dedicated to Constantin Meunier was attached to the royal museum in 1978.

Information for travelers:

• Museums of old, modern art, Fin-de-Siecle (the history of the Belgian and pan-European Silver Age) and Rene Magritte

Address: (first 3 museums): Rue de la Régence / Regentschapsstraat 3
René Magritte Museum: Place royale / Koningsplein 1

Opening hours: Mon. – Sun: 10.00 – 17.00.
Closed January 1st, January 2nd Thursday, May 1st, November 1st, December 25th.
24 and 31 December open until 14.00

Ticket price:
Ticket to one of the museums: adults (24 - 64 years old) - 8 euros, adults over 65 - 6 euros, children and youth (6 - 25 years old) - 2 euros. Children under 5 years old - free of charge.
Combined ticket for 4 museums: adults (24 - 64 years old) - 13 euros, adults over 65 - 9 euros, children and youth (6 - 25 years old) - 3 euros. Children under 5 years old - free of charge.

How to get there:
Metro: lines 1 and 5 - go to Gare Centralt or Parc.
Trams: lines 92 and 94, buses: lines 27, 38, 71 and 95 - Royale stop.

• Constantine Meunier Museum

Address: Rue de l'Abbaye / Abdijstraat 59.
Opening hours: Tue. – Fri.: 10.00 – 12.00, 13.00 – 17.00. The entrance is free.

Royal Museum in Brussels (Brussels, Belgium) - expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.

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The capital of Belgium has a whole complex of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique), consisting of six separate museums.

Museums of Ancient and Modern Art

Royal Museums ancient (Musée royal d'art ancien) and modern (Musée d'Art moderne) art occupy one building, on Rue de la Régence, 3. Museum exposition ancient art(Museum voor Oude Kunst) is represented by works European artists 14-18 centuries, and it is based on a collection of works Flemish painting.

The Museum of Modern Art (Museum voor Moderne Kunst) features works by Belgian artists ranging from Fauvism to Modernism. Neoclassicism is represented by the work of Jacques Louis David and his student Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres; nationalist aspirations are expressed in the works of the romantics: Eugene Delacroix and Theodore Géricault. Realism is illustrated by the works of Gustave Courbet and Constantine Meunier. The works of the Impressionists Alfred Sisley and Emil Claus are displayed alongside works by Theo van Reisselberghe and Georges-Pierre Seurat. The museum also houses one of the largest public collections of works by the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte.

Address: Rue de la Regence 3.

Opening hours: 10:00 - 17:00, day off: Monday. Museums are closed: January 1, second Thursday of January, May 1, November 1, November 11, December 25.

Entrance: 10 EUR, visitors over 65 years old: 8 EUR, visitors from 6 to 25 years old: 3 EUR, children under 6 years old: free of charge. Ticket to all museums of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts complex: 15 EUR, visitors over 65 years old: 10 EUR, visitors from 6 to 25 years old: 5 EUR, children under 6 years old: free of charge.

Museum of Antoine Wirtz and Constantin Meunier

Next on the list is the Antoine Wiertz Museum (Musée Antoine Wiertz, Rue Vautier, 62). It is closed on Mondays, on Fridays only for groups, on other days of the week it is open from 10:00 to 17:00, 12:00-13:00 lunch break. The Royal Museum of Constantin Meunier (Constantin Meunier, Rue de l'Abbaye, 59) operates under the same regime. Entrance to both museums is free.

The Antoine Wiertz museum is a studio-temple that has preserved the unique atmosphere of the "universe" of the artist Antoine Wiertz, a representative of the Belgian romantic direction 19th century. The museum contains a number of works by Wirtz, his drawings and sculptures, testifying to the influence of the great masters of the past: Rubens, Michelangelo and Raphael.

Museum Constantin Meunier (Constantin Meunier museum) occupies the former home-studio of the famous Belgian painter and sculptor, a representative of the realistic movement in art. Meunier is one of the first sculptors who, in his works, gave a central place to a person engaged in physical labor.

Address of the Antoine Wirtz Museum: Rue Vautier, 62.

Address of the Constantine Meunier Museum: Rue de l'Abbaye, 59.

Opening hours: Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 - 12:00, 13:00 - 17:00.

Entrance: free.

Museum of Military History and Technology

And another museum free entry- museum military history and technology (musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire, Jubelpark, 3). It is open from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 16:45.

Prices on the page are for November 2018.

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Belgium) (French Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Dutch Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) is a museum complex in Brussels and its suburb of Ixelles. Contains a significant collection of paintings and sculptures, owned by the Belgian state. The complex includes (in Brussels) the Museum of Ancient Art (full name: French Musée royal d "art ancien à Bruxelles) Museum of Modern Art (French Musée royal d" art moderne à Bruxelles) Magritte Museum (French Musée Magritte) Museum Fin de siècle (in Ixelles) Wirtz Museum (fr. Musée Wiertz) Meunier Museum (fr. Musée Meunier).

During the occupation of the Austrian Netherlands by the French revolutionary troops in 1794, the confiscation of works of art began in Brussels. The confiscated was stockpiled and partly transported to Paris. The remaining artistic values ​​served as the basis for the museum founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801 in Brussels, which first opened its doors to the public two years later in the palace of the Austrian Stadtholder. In the years that followed, some of the art from this collection was sent to Paris. All confiscated valuables returned from Paris to Brussels only after the deposition of Napoleon. Since 1811 the museum became the property of the city of Brussels. With the emergence of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under King William I, the museum's funds expanded significantly. In 1835, King Leopold I decided to create now in the Belgian capital national museum Belgian artists. Seven years later, the city and royal collections were combined and received in 1846 the name of the Royal Museums of Painting and Sculpture of Belgium. And a year before that, a department of contemporary art appeared in the museum. In 1887, a new museum building was opened on Rue de la Régence / Regentschapsstraat, designed by Alphonse Balat, which housed the department of ancient art. Meeting works of XIX V. remained in its original place in the Habsburg palace. Only almost 100 years later, a building was added to the museum for the expanded collection of art of the 20th century.

Museum of Ancient Art

Flemish collection

The collection of the Museum of Ancient Art contains about 1,200 works European art covering the period from the 14th to the 18th centuries. The collection is based on works of Flemish painting, almost all Flemings are represented by their significant works. Among the canvases "The Annunciation" by Robert Campin, "Pieta" and two portraits of Rogier van der Weyden, several paintings by Dirk Bouts on religious themes, Petrus Christus and Hugo van der Goes, several portraits and the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian" by Hans Memling, "Madonna and Child" and a triptych of the Leuven brotherhood of St. Anna by Quentin Masseys, "Venus and Cupid" and two portraits of Mabuse's donors. The museum has 7 paintings by Pieter Brueghel (the Elder), incl. the famous “Fall of the Rebellious Angels”, as well as “The Adoration of the Magi”, “Winter Landscape with Skaters and a Bird Trap…