THE FRIENDS’ BOOKLET AUTUMN > WINTER 2016 Visit our website www.becomeafriend.be to be kept informed of the latest activities and events of the Friends and take full benefit of the advantages offered to you! Editor Christiane Waucquez Rue du Musée 9, 1000 Brussels Contact Friends of the RMFAB Rue du Musée 9, 1000 Brussels T +32 (0)2 511 41 16 [email protected] / www.becameafriend.be Becomeafriend Design www.indekeuken.org This booklet has been created and printed with the help of Treetop. DEAR FRIENDS, Prepare to be surprised! Moderniteit à la belge – Modernité op zijn Belgisch, a surprising modern art exhibition, is the title given by our General Manager to the autumn 2016 exhibition. A surprising and also fascinating exhibition, which will show more than 120 artworks, from the most famous to the least seen, to illustrate the 20th century Belgian art scene and its profound originality! The Friends Private Evening (pp. 4-5) on Tuesday 18 October will give you the opportunity to (re) discover great artists of our own country and artworks from our wonderful collection. The start of the new term will also plunge us into History, that of the Great War which has profoundly transformed society. (pp.8-9) The exhibition in focus 14-18. Rupture or Continuity is presented in an innovative way thanks to the Digital Experience, a multimedia device funded partly thanks to the Friends of the Museums. We would like to thank you very warmly for your support which is essential to our museums. (pp. 27-28) More For Friends activities (pp.18-19) will give you the opportunity to view our collections with fresh eyes and discover the new displays. You will be invited to participate in a Halloween family day and to celebrate the 215th anniversary of our museum. If you like travelling, you will not be disappointed by the exciting programme that has been prepared especially for you! (pp. 20-23) And why not come and treat yourself in the Museum Brasserie or the Museum Cafe which reopened under the guidance of Chef Yves Mattagne? (p. 29) Our institution is celebrating its 215 years of existence and already in 1800, Guillaume Bosschaert, the first Curator, spoke of the problems of Brussels (p.17) and proposed solutions that are more relevant than ever. May our decision makers hear us! ‘‘Schoonheid is de kleur van de vrijheid’’ (Beauty wears the colour of freedom) – Jan Fabre We look forward to seeing you soon! 3 Friends’ Evening Private Victor Servranckx. Opus 18, 1927. Oil on canvas, 146 × 92 cm. © SABAM, Belgium Tuesday 18.10 2016 at 17:30 & 19:00 Moderniteit à la belge – Modernité op zijn Belgisch The 20th century Belgian art scene, its diversity, originality and specificity Through the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the exhibition tries to express this identity - or better, to make it visible - through various themes put into perspective, at the international level, as seen through the eyes of outsiders like Picasso, Bacon or Fontana. GUIDED TOURS FOLLOWED BY DRINKS To register for this event, send your payment of €10 per person (€17 for non-members) into the account BE46 3100 4042 4636 – BBRUBEBB, mentioning the date, hour and language (French or Dutch). Registration and payment before 30 September 2016 (no confirmation will be provided and no refund in case of absence). Entrance through the Magritte Museum: Place Royale/Koningsplein, 1 1000 Brussels 5 Marcel Broodthaers. Exposition de marchandises 1e classe, fémur humain, 1965. Color-print and handwritten text in blue ink on paper, 21,4 × 29 cm. 6 © The Estate of Marcel Broodthaers c/o SABAM, Belgium 14.10 > 15.01 2017 Moderniteit à la belge – Modernité op zijn Belgisch This exhibition is a personal view of the General Manager who is coming to the end of his second term. The idea is to outline what could be the story of Belgian art during the 20th century and to highlight the critical role of what took place on the Belgian art scene since the late 19th century. “ … Without leaving the Belgian identity framework, I wanted to test the natural anti-modernity of Belgian art: its relation to the progress that Magritte would say is a ‘crazy idea’, its resilience through irony, its sense of baroque vituperation from Ensor to Cobra; its relationship to the lost paradise and classical tradition; its rejection of collectivist dogma and its libertarian foundation; its atypical conception of the Sublime; its pessimism along with its joy of living. Through its presen- tation, the exhibition aims to be an essay without words, the text being made of works held in the collective memory that makes up the museum. A dialogue between paintings, sculptures and drawings that outline a cultural identity and question the sense of modernity experienced as project. Such a project is now sorely lacking in our Western demo- cracies. This exhibition invites you to a ‘free’ and therefore questionable display that brings out of the shadow some less known, less viewed works which take strength and subs- tance in contact with the masterpieces of our collections. ” – Michel Draguet More For Friends > Tuesday 18.10 2016 at 17:30 & 19:00 FRIENDS' PRIVATE EVENING. (See pages 4-5) 7 Exhibition in focus 8 29.09 > 22.01 2017 14-18. Rupture or Continuity? Belgian Art at the time of World War I At the dawn of the 20th century, the Belgian art scene is buzzing. World War I, the occupation, the horror of the battle- fields, and the exile of more than a million Belgian people have a significant impact on the country’s artistic production. Nobody remains unaffected by the traumatic experiences of this war, which will consolidate the style of some and consti- tute a revolution for others. The exhibition “14 -18. Rupture or Continuity” delves into the vast collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and explores the changes and constants of Belgian Art between 1910 and 1925. Artists and artistic movements like Constant Permeke’s Expressionism, Jules Schmalzigaug’s Futurism or Jozef Peeters’ Pure Plastic are shown side by side in this exceptional exhibition, immersing the visitor in an era of artistic and political upheaval. ‘Digital experience’, the new multimedia cylinder provides an interactive context for the artworks on display. Through historical documents, videos, audio clips and reproductions of works, this innovative device offers an overview of Belgian artistic creation in the days of World War I. On 24 and 25 November 2016, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium organize an international scientific conference devoted to the place of Belgian modern art in a European context. (Curator : Mrs Inga Rossi-Schrimpf) More For Friends > Saturday 08.10 at 14:30 GUIDED TOUR. 9 notebook available at the museumshop 10 #100Masters During 100 days, 100 masterpieces of the Brussels museums have been promoted (18 May to 27 August 2016)! Among those, the 22 masterpieces belonging to our Museums will continue to be displayed until the end of the year. Discovery courses for children and adults are available on the museums’ website or at the INFO desk in the Forum. To mark the event, a book presenting the 100 Masterpieces from the Brussels museums is published by Racine/Lanoo and is on sale in the Museum shop. Don’t miss this great opportunity to enjoy the discount offered to the Friends. It is the perfect time, Dear Friends, to acquire the Notebook newly published by our association. You will find it in the Museum shop and at the INFO desk for the modest sum of € 5. In this very special Notebook you can write, draw, and dream in the company of our most beautiful masterpieces! Van der Weyden, Bruegel, Jordaens, Rubens, Magritte, Ensor, Mucha, Dali, Bacon, Spilliaert, Broodthaers and many others are waiting for you! Guided tours are organised on the following Saturdays 15.10, 19.11, 17.12 2016 at 14:00 in F and 15:30 in NL. (See p. 25) 11 12 Pieter Bruegel. Pieter Bruegel in Bruegel Box. Projection after Pieter Bruegel, detail. 16.03.2016 > 16.03.2020 Bruegel. Unseen Masterpieces When art meets technology Bruegel. Unseen Masterpieces reveals to the public the hidden secrets of the works of Pieter Bruegel the Elder († Brussels, 1569). While the artist and his paintings are instantly recognisable worldwide, every composition also depicts a whole host of characters - some surprising, others familiar – and vignettes that provide the subtext of the story, which are masterpieces worthy of exploration in their own rights. The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium launched this project jointly with the Google Cultural Institute in anticipa- tion of the 450th anniversary of Bruegel’s death, in 2019. The project brings together major international museums, many of which are European, around the focal figure of Bruegel the Elder. This innovative concept is the fruit of in-depth thinking on current transformations in the field of museology as it adapts to the digital age. Virtual exhibits Bruegel. Unseen Masterpieces can be accessed on the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium’s interactive screens, on their mobile app and on the Google Cultural Institute platform. Great news: the Bruegel room has now been equipped with top quality lighting! 13 New displays in our Museums From October, the Bernheim room will present works by Thierry De Cordier, a Belgian artist born in Oudenaarde in 1954 and living in Oostende. You will be able to appreciate 13 iconotextures or “drawings” presenting a rolling text which consists in a gigan- tic index of the definitions of God.