THE FRIENDS’ BOOKLET 2019 SPRING > SUMMER 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

Contact Friends of the RMFAB Rue du Musée 9, 1000 Brussels T +32 (0)2 511 41 16 [email protected] / www.becomeafriend.be Becomeafriend

Design www.indekeuken.org

This booklet has been created and printed with the help of Treetop. DEAR FRIENDS, In 2019, spring at the Museum will be Dutch! After many years of renovation, you will once again be able to admire the masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age (see pp 6-7). For the first time in over 200 years, three fragments of the ‘Van Campen Family Portrait’ by Frans Hals (1582-1666) will be reunited and will interact with 3 other portraits by the artist (see pp 8-9). We hope that many of you will come to celebrate together this ‘Dutch Spring’ at the Friends’ Private Evening on Tuesday 12 March, 2019 (see pp 4-5). During this event you will also discover the new reception rooms of the ‘Grand Auditorium Philippe Roberts-Jones’. In the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of there is a sublime collection of ancient drawings and a selection of these, dating from the 18th century, will be exhibited in the ‘Cabinet of the Most Wonderful Drawings’ until 19 May 2019 (see pp 10-11). Contemporary art is not forgotten! The exhibition Wim Delvoye, a major figure of the Belgian art scene, will open on 22 March. This exhibition (see pp 12-13) offers a broad panorama of his work and emphasizes its multidisciplinary aspect. In April, Thomas Lerooy (Behind the Curtain) and Agnès Guillaume (4MY’s) will exhibit their works (see pp 14-17). In June, the Magritte Museum will celebrate its 10th anniversary and a number of events will be planned for this occasion (see pp 18-19). One of the events will be an exhibition in October 2019 on Salvador Dalí’s work in dialogue with René Magritte’s . Outside the Museums, we invite you to explore several cultural destinations (Abu Dhabi, Athens, Bordeaux, Marche, Liverpool & York, London...) with excellent guides and company in a unique atmosphere. Several day trips are also on the programme (see pp 21-24). Remember to register early to our very successful More For Friends activities (see p 25), and the registration is now also open for our Autumn 2019 Contemporary Art Tour (see p 29). The challenges faced by our museums do not prevent them to deliver on their missions and radiate out; do not miss the Khnoppf exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris (curated by Michel Draguet, Managing Director of the museums) and the Van Orley exhibition in Bozar resulting from a fruitful collaboration. Dear Friends, come often to our wonderful museums, there is something going on every day (see pp 26-27), and more than ever we need your precious support (see pp 30-31)! A huge thank you and see you soon. 3 Friends’ Private Evening Nature Boelema de Stomme, Maerten morte à la cruche à tête barbue et coupe nautile ( Extract of a still life ) Tuesday 12.03 2019 at 17:30 & 19:00

A private evening for the Friends to admire ‘A Family Reunion’, focus exhibition on Frans Hals and his portraits. Let’s celebrate together the ‘Dutch Spring’ with a visit of one of the best collections of Dutch paintings outside GUIDED TOURS the . 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 of your choice (French or Dutch).

Registration and payment before 8 March 2019 (no confirmation will be provided and no refund in case of absence).

Nature Boelema de Stomme, Maerten morte à la cruche à tête barbue et coupe nautile ( Extract of a still life painting) Entrance via Place des Musées 5 From 01.02 2019 Dutch Spring Reopening of the ‘Dutch School’ Collection

With the reopening of the ‘Dutch School’ collection and in the context of the 2019 Rembrandt year, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium put forward the Dutch School this spring. Discover the family portraits painted by Frans Hals, the great masters of the Dutch Golden Age, and a cabinet with the most exquisite 18th century drawings! Journey through the Dutch Golden Age and (re) discover artists such as Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn, Nicolaes Maes, Abraham Bloemaert, Jan van Goyen, Jacob van Ruisdael or Pieter de Hooch. The recently renovated ‘Dutch School’ galleries house portraits, landscapes, genre scenes and still lifes, and offer a vast panorama of this fascinating artistic period. The 17th century brought to the Northern Netherlands an era of unprecedented economic prosperity. During this Golden Age, cities such as Amsterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem and Leiden became true hubs of artistic innovation. The RMFAB’s collection of Dutch art from this period is one of the largest and most beautiful, preserved outside the Netherlands. After a long-awaited renovation of the Dutch School galleries, about a hundred masterpieces finally get a well-deserved permanent spot in the Old Masters Museum. On this occasion there will be a family day on 3 February 2019. Tales, creative workshops for young and old, and guided tours will punctuate this festive afternoon.

6 Come and discover ‘in full awareness’ our masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age: Marjan Abadie founder of the Mindfulness Institute offers a meditative approach to ­appropriating a work in an intimate way and to live it as a sensory experience in a ‘Slow Art’ perspective.

Slow Art: ticketting online, Thursday 07.02, 21.03, 25.04 12:30-13:30 and Sunday 17.02, 17.03, 28.04 de 15:00-16:00 (only in FR, discount for the Friends)

More for Friends > Tuesday 12.03 2019 17:30 & 19:00 THE FRIENDS’ PRIVATE EVENING (see pp 4-5)

Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael; Images by Adriaen van de Velde, Landscape with river 7 01.02 > 19.05 2019 Frans Hals’s portraits A Family Reunion

Born in 1582, probably in Antwerp, Frans Hals spent his youth in Haarlem. married twice and had fourteen children! Four became painters like their father. This early 17th century painter, contemporary with Rubens, is known for the strength, vitality and emotion of his impressive Family Gatherings. The exhibition presented in the heart of the newly reopened Dutch rooms on this occasion highlights the tremendous work of regrouping a very large painting representing a family originally counting 16 characters and having subsequently undergone mysterious cuttings. The painting was divided into various independent paintings, only three of which being kept in known places. The central section, showing the three children and the cart pulled by a goat has been part of the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium since 1928, while the larger section from the left (with 9 characters) belonged to a private collection until 2011 when it was purchased by the Toledo Museum (Ohio – United States). The right fragment showing the portrait of a boy is part of a Belgian private collection. This is the first time that the three parts of the oldest portrait by Frans Hals will be reunited and the RMFAB have taken this opportunity to exhibit other portraits by the artist. The catalogue proposed in conjunction with the exhibition position Frans Hals’ family gathering within his work and in the tradition of family portrait in the northern and southern Netherlands. The richly illustrated publication is available in French, Dutch and English.

8 ca. 1620. , Three children of the cloth merchant Gijsbert Claesz. van Campen and his wife Maria Jorisdr. together with a car pulled by a goat Frans Hals,

More for Friends > Tuesday 12.03 2019 17:30 & 19:00 THE FRIENDS’ PRIVATE EVENING (see pp 4-5) 9 Focus Exposition

Hendrik Meijer, Fisherman’s boat in an Italian port in the Moonlight, 1769 10 01.02 > 19.05 2019 Cabinet of the Most Wonderful Drawings: a selection of 18th-century Dutch drawings from the collection of the RMFAB

During the 18th century, collecting drawings and prints became widely popular in the Northern Netherlands. With the then predominant fashion for wallpaper, it became essential to acquire paintings and decorations. Jean Degrez’s ‘Wonderful’ cabinet, which includes more than 1,200 18th-century drawings, is no exception to this practice. Jean Degrez died on 18 September 1910 in Brussels where he had come to live. According to his will, his wife Marie Mahie bequeathed the collection to Belgium in 1911. Among the 4,250 pieces in the collection, 3,600 are drawings from the 16th to the 19th century, from the Dutch school. In 2007 a Golden Century exhibition dedicated to the 17th century was being held; the 18th century is now added to this exhibition under the enthusiastic and expert impulse of Charles Dumas, expert curator of the Rijksbureau voor kunsthistorische documentatie, Robert-Jan te Rijdt, curator of drawings at the Rijksmuseum, and Stefaan Hautekeete, curator of the old drawings collection at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. They have selected eighty exceptional drawings that trace the entire 18th century and whose variety of subjects and techniques gives an overview of the characteristics of this era.

A catalogue in English will be published and will include relevant information regarding the technique, watermark, origin and bibliographical references of each drawing, about 250 pages including 120 colour illustrations. Authors: Charles Dumas, Stefaan Hautekeete and Robert-Jan te Rijdt. 11 22.03 > 21.07 2019 Wim Delvoye at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

A major figure on the Belgian art scene, Wim Delvoye is known for his humour, his taste for technological experimen- tation, and his rich and varied production. His reputation has long since passed the borders of his homeland, and in recent years he carried out numerous exhibitions in countries as diverse as Canada, Azerbaijan, Russia, Luxembourg or even Iran. Conceived in close collaboration with the artist, the exhibi- tion by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium offers avast overview of his work and emphasizes its multidisciplinary aspect. Indeed, Wim Delvoye’s art is often the result of a combination of craftsmanship and the most sophisticated industrial manufacturing techniques. Anchored in the contemporary world, Wim Delvoye studies the past and contemplates the future. In a new way, the exhibition brings together his creations with masterpieces from the RMFAB’s collection of ancient art. In addition, recent works, presented to the public for the first time, testify to the artist’s awareness of the changes taking place in our hyper-connected societies, where lines between reality and virtual worlds are increasingly blurry.

More for Friends > MORE FOR FRIENDS: GUIDED TOURS FOR THE FRIENDS OF THE RMFAB > Sunday 31.03 2019 14:30 (15 places available) > Sunday 16.06 2019 14:30 (15 places available) (Registration required at [email protected] see p. 26)

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Wim Delvoye, Installation with 2 gas cylinders and 29 saws © SABAM Belgium 13 Focus Exposition

2018. Thomas Lerooy, Behind the curtain, Courtesy de Rodolphe Janssen Brussels. © Hugard & Vanoverschelde photography 14 23.04 > 18.08 2019 Thomas Lerooy: Behind the Curtain

The Belgian artist Thomas Lerooy (°1981) is known for his sculptures and drawings. In Behind the Curtain, the exhibition at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, he shows paintings alongside his sculptures for the first time. In Lerooy’s enigmatic work, different realities are intertwined, each with their own set of laws. The viewer tumbles from one visual language into another. Throughout the different layers, death and eternity meet, as well as beauty and ugliness, order and chaos, show and intimacy, drama and humour. Thomas Lerooy has developed a highly personal style: a mix of realism, surrealist themes and influences from the classical sculpturing. He sees his paintings as living beings; they need time to mature both in terms of visual language and content. You do not need to understand them, but rather feel them by surrendering to the softness of his brushwork. In combination with his sculptures, his paintings form a complex oeuvre which is both moving and thrilling; shocking and unforgettable.

With the support of

More for Friends > Sunday 05.05 2019 from 16:00 PRESENTATION OF THE EXHIBITION BY THE ARTIST HIMSELF (The event is only accessible to Patrons and Full members.) Registration required at [email protected]

15 Focus Exhibition

2014. Agnès Guillaume, My Nights, © Agnès Guillaume 16 23.04 > 14.07 2019 Agnès Guillaume: 4 MY’s Patio 0 & 1

While at first sight enigmatic, Agnès Guillaume’s title for her exhibition at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium is in fact obvious. It refers to four projections (My Nights, My Fears, My Thoughts and My Roots), to which a fifth one is added, the video triptych You said Love is Eternity. The duality of the title reflects Guillaume’s work, which invites contemplation and allows a multitude of hidden meanings to emerge. The titles of the works suggest that the artist delivers autobiographical elements, but is this the case? Agnès Guillaume’s videos are of cinematographic quality and refer, in their form, to historical painting. These two aspects are underlined in the exhibition by the large dimension of the images, which inhabit and transform the space. Graphic works are also presented, in order to offer a complete overview of the artist’s work. Agnes Guillaume will meet the children during the summer internship (p 24) ‘File au Musée’. The best way to find inspiration for the workshop since nothing can beat a meeting in flesh and bone with an artist!

More for Friends > Sunday 05.05 2019 from 16:00 PRESENTATION OF THE EXHIBITION BY THE ARTIST HIMSELF (The event is only accessible to Patrons and Full members.) Registration required at [email protected] 17 JUNE 2019: THE MAGRITTE MUSEUM IS 10 YEARS OLD Magritte Museum – 10 YEARS! The Magritte Museum is open 7 days a week!

It will be 10 years in June 2019 that the Magritte Museum opened its doors. An ongoing success story. Since the open- ing of the museum in 2009, more than 3 million visitors have come to admire the work of this great artist.

The Magritte Museum in a few figures: N°1 : the largest collection of works by René Magritte N°1 : the most important collection of works from his “Vache” period 234 works and archives exhibited on 2,500 m² and 5 levels 120 m² of space for educational and creative workshops 8 8 nominations and awards visio-guide in 6 languages (French, Dutch, English, German, Spanish and Italian) guided tours in 10 languages (French, Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Russian and sign language) European premiere: 1 touch pad for people who are deaf or hard of hearing +12.000 people benefited from a ‘tailor-made’ visit (visually impaired, hearing impaired, disabled, socially isolated) 3 audio-guides (including 2 new ones for children and adolescents) and 1 video-guide available open 7 days a week

As part of the Magritte & Dalí major exhibition at the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg (Florida, USA), fourteen works from the Magritte Museum have travelled exceptionally to the

18 other side of the Atlantic. Thanks to this unique partnership, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium will have the ­pleasure to welcome the Dalí Museum’s masterpieces in our Dalí & Magritte exhibition in autumn 2019.

Many activities (themed guided tours, improvisation & ­performance sessions, music, literary trail, various activities...) will be organized on the occasion of this anniversary.

23-24.11 2019 > Festive Weekend of 10 years MMM

Check the museum website regularly to stay up to date: www.fine-arts-museum.be

19 Human Rights Path through the collections of the RMFAB

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) and the Belgian sections of Amnesty International have joined forces to develop a human rights path which threads through the heart of the Museums’ collections. This visit, which focuses on different human rights – including related to migration - will be presented on 18 December 2019 on the occasion of International Migrants Day.

Based on dialogues between experts in the field of art and others in human rights, the trail is presented in the form of a dozen video capsules. Françoise Tulkens, former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, and Anthony Spiegeler, art historian, talk for example about justice; Anne-Marie Impe, journalist and Jean-Philippe Theyskens, art historian and guide-lecturer, talk about women’s rights; Ellen Desmet, professor of migration law at the University of Ghent, and Isabelle Vermote, art historian, talk about migration, etc.

The course will also be the subject of guided tours for ­various audiences: school groups, cultural groups, ­specific audiences... These guided tours will be offered from September 2019 by the Cultural Mediation ­Department of the RMFAB, which actively contributed to make this unique project happen.

20 Human Rights Path through Travels Excursions the collections of the RMFAB for the Friends of the RMFAB FEBRUARY – DECEMBER 2019

21.02 2019 > MUSEUM HOF VAN BUSLEYDEN IN MECHELEN Ref. 3318 – €90 (coach, lunch, entrance fees and guides) In the majestic palace of Hiëronymus van Busleyden, a member of the Grand Council of the Netherlands in the early 16th century, a new museum with beautiful fine art and precious books introduces us to the glorious history of the town during the Habsburgs while forging links with contemporary times as in the current exhibition of Berlinde De Bruycker. In the 19th century, the Ursuline Convent and its acclaimed Pensionnat de Demoiselles were founded at Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver. We will visit various parts of the listed building and the magnificent Winter Garden with Art Nouveau stained-glass.

20-24.03 2019 > ATHENS: CYCLADES TO CONTEMPORARY ART Ref. 3283 – €1795 (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) The Niarchos Foundation, designed by Renzo Piano and made of pristine glass and concrete, houses a library and an opera overlooking Lycabettus Hill. The Acropolis Museum is a temple for Hellenic culture of spectacular modernity and technicality. The former Fix brewery has become the permanent home for the Museum of Contemporary Art. Mansions on Sofias Avenue display remarkable private collections of Greek antiquities, Cycladic, Byzantine and Christian Art. An excursion to Cape Sounion and Aegina island will reveal their temples in the sweetness of Attica.

04.04 2019 > BRUEGEL IN CASSEL, GIACOMETTI IN VILLENEUVE D’ASCQ Ref. 3319 – €90 (coach, lunch, entrance fees and guides) The exhibition ‘Party and Fair in the 16th and 17th centuries in Flanders’ fits into the Bruegel year by giving a place of choice to the master. It also shows other ways of dealing with the subject, closer to courtly art, with artists like Pieter Aertsen or Jacob Jordaens. The LAM hosts 150 works by Alberto Giacometti; timeless, spectacular and moving.

26-29.04 2019 > CHATEAUX AND MUSEUMS OF BORDEAUX Ref. 3284 – €1595 (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) Surrounded by vineyards, Bordeaux will seduce you with the sumptuous facades of 18th century merchant aristocracy, the medieval Porte Cailhau gate, 21 Saint-André Gothic Cathedral and the Water Mirror on Place de la Bourse by the Gironde. The Museums of Decorative Arts, Fine Arts, and Aquitaine are full of treasures. The former Laîné warehouse and the Bernard-Magrez Cultural Institute give pride of place to contemporary art. On a trip to the land of the Graves wines, we will discover the Châteaux de La Brede where Montesquieu, de Roquetaillade (14th ) and de Cazeneuve (14th) were born, and there we will enjoy a wine tasting session!

11-17.05 2019 > DISCOVERING THE OUTPOSTS Ref. 3299 – €1975 (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) The border (or “outpost”) between the Germanic Empire and the Papal States of the Middle Ages, called the Marche region, includes prestigious cities such as Urbino with its beautiful Renaissance Palace, housing works by Piero della Francesca, Raphael or Ascoli Piceno, and its harmonious medieval Piazza del Popolo, but also some charming isolated boroughs dotted among the hills. Rich with history and museums, Ancona and Pesaro are ancient ports on the Adriatic Sea lined by beautiful sandy beaches.

06.06 2019 > LE MUDIA AT REDU Ref. 3327 – €90 (coach, lunch, entrance fees and guides) The collector Eric Noulet chose the charming Ardennes village of Redu, to create an ‘Educational museum of art’ in a completely renovated 19th century presbytery. Veronese, Brueghel, Rodin, Spilliaert, Van Dongen, Wouters, Picasso, Modigliani, Giacometti, Magritte, Hergé, Franquin, Geluck... are presented in a chronological approach, enriched by an interactive experience using new technologies. Not far, the pretty Romanesque church of Waha hosts treasures from the 13th to the 16th century enhanced by the stained-glass windows of Jean-Michel Folon.

20-25.06 2019 > FROM YORK TO LIVERPOOL Ref. 3300 – €1995 jusqu’au 15.03 après 2095 € (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) From the proud medieval city of York, its sumptuous cathedral, beautifully preserved city walls, and half-timbered houses, to Liverpool, with its stunning modern architecture, early 20th century buildings and cathedrals, prestigious museums such as the Tate or the Walker Art Gallery showcasing Rembrandt, Rubens and Pre-Raphaelites. In the same region, we will discover the stately home and gardens of Castle Howard with works by Holbein and Van Dyck, the Cistercian Fountains Abbey with surrounding woods and valleys, and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park with Henry Moore’s largest display of his bronzes in Europe. 22 05-10.09 2019 > GENOA AND THE CÔTE LIGURE (3rd voyage) Ref. 3301 – €1695 early bird price till 15/05/19, normal price €1795 (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) Against a backdrop of mountains and Mediterranean Sea, the Riviera Liguria features the idyllic Portofino and the Cinque Terre with terraces of vineyards and olive groves. It also features the beautiful city of Genoa with its wonderful 15th to 18th centuries art collections in the Bianco, Rosso and Spinola Palaces, the Via Balbi and Garibaldi beautiful facades, the frescoes of Prince’s Palace, and the vertiginous marquetry of San Lorenzo Cathedral... You will further discover the sumptuous Certosa of Pavia and the new Egizio Egyptian Museum in the historic centre of Turin.

24-29.09 2019 > TREASURES OF DRESDEN AND WEIMAR Ref. 3302 – Price to be determined (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) Dresden can best be seen from the Brühl Terrace with its splendid views of the Elbe. The Zwinger, a Baroque masterpiece, unveils its Bath of the Nymphs and Gallery of Old Masters. The Albertinum houses a remarkable collection of German Impres- sionists and 20th century European masters. The Green Vault features a collection of crown jewels in a luxurious setting. Weimar celebrates in 2019 the centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus! This charming town keeps the memory of Goethe alive with a baroque house, museum and pavilion in the Park on the Ilm. Many works by Cranach will be exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Leipzig.

10.10 2019 > THE MUSEUM DE REEDE IN ANTWERP AND KANAAL IN WIJNEGEM Ref. 3331 – €90 (coach, lunch, entrance fees and guides) Founded by the Dutch collector Harry Ruten, the new De Reede museum is dedicated to the graphic arts is home to exceptional works by Goya, Rops and Munch but also by Evenepoel, Tytgat, Wouters, van de Woestijne... On the banks of the Meuse, Kanaal is an ambitious project of the Belgian merchant and art collector Axel Vervoordt. The imposing brick buildings of a former gin distillery houses collections of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiques, furniture, Asian art and contemporary art.

15-20.10 2019 > PORTO AND THE DOURO VALLEY Ref. 3320 – €1595 early bird price till 01/02/19, normal price €1695 (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) Historic Porto, with extravagant medieval and baroque treasures, has burst into the 21st century with the Modern Art Museum Serralves and the Casa 23 de Música de Alvaro Siza Vieira. The medieval city of Quimarães and the neighbouring exuberant Braga are enchanting. In the Douro Valley lies one of the most beautiful terraced vineyards in the world stretching along a deep valley revealing its quinta, ancient palaces and monasteries.

09.11 2019 > REMBRANDT AND VÉLASQUEZ IN AMSTERDAM Ref. 3330 – €125 (coach, lunch, entrance fees and guides) To celebrate the year of Rembrandt, the Rijksmuseum presents in collaboration with the Prado, an exhibition on the Spanish and Dutch Golden Age by confronting Rembrandt, Velázquez, Vermeer, De Ribera, Frans Hals and Zubarán. The Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden, his hometown, inaugurates its brand-new galleries with the ‘Young Rembrandt’ exhibition dedicated to the master’s early works, including The Man in Oriental Costume (1632) on loan from The Metropolitan Museum in New York.

14-21.11 2019 > FROM MARRAKECH TO TAROUDANT Ref. 3337 – Price to be determined (flight, coach, half board accommodation, entrance fees and guide) At the foot of the High Atlas, the “Red City” creates an immediate impact with its palaces, mosques, medersas, adobe castle walls and lush gardens.The innumerable derb of the medina and the mythical Jemaa-el-Fna square are listed as World Heritage by Unesco. Exciting museums are opening up, art galleries are flourishing, promoting age-old craftsmanship and giving pride of place to contemporary art. The beautiful landscapes of the Ourika valley lead to the dreamlike garden of André Heller “Anima” which mixes nature and art. The old town of Taroudant has preserved its authenticity with the nearby palm grove of Tiout and the enchanting palace of the Chilean painter Claudio Bravo.

UPCOMING Beginning December 2019 > LE LOUVRE ABU DHABI, DUBAÏ & OMAN (3rd trip) 14-15.12 2019 > THE MAIN EXHIBITIONS IN LONDON

For one day excursions, it is essential to register with Preference-Travel Team by email or by post (Preference-Travel Team: 77, rue de l’Abbaye, 1050 Brussels) with name, number of participants, fees. Fees need to be paid to the KBC account of Preference-Travel Team: IBAN : BE92 7440 6349 9223 SWIFT/BIC : KREDBEBB For travels, please contact Marie-Eve Rosmant at Preference-Travel Team: Tel.: +32(0)2 647 30 00 E-mail: [email protected] 24 m MORE ! FOR FRIENDS

EVENTS FOR THE FRIENDS SPRING > SUMMER 2019 1! FRIEND’S PRIVATE EVENING – PORTRAITS BY FRANS HALS: A FAMILY REUNION AND THE DUTCH SCHOOL COLLECTION. Tuesday 12 March at 17:30 & 19:00 (see pp 4-5). GUIDED TOUR OF THE WIM DELVOYE EXHIBITION 2! Sunday 31 March at 14:30 (15 places available (FR) & 15 places available (NL)). PARIS ART FAIR 3! 4-7 April 2019 (Grand Palais-Paris) 10 Pass VIP available. GUIDED TOUR OF ART BRUSSELS (TOUR & TAXIS) 4! Sunday 27 April 2019 at 14:30 (20 places available). PRESENTATION OF THE EXHIBITION ‘BEHIND THE CURTAIN’ 5! THOMAS LEROOY AND ‘4MY’S’ AGNÈS GUILLAUMEE Sunday 5 May from 16h, exclusively for Patrons and Full members (see pp 14-17). GUIDED TOUR OF THE WIM DELVOYE EXHIBITION 6! Sunday 16 June 2019 at 14:30 (15 places available). More information on www.becomeafriend.be Reservation required at [email protected] with mention of your name, event, date, number of participants and your membership number. A confirmation email will be sent. First come first served.

Many thanks to our partners!

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EVERY DAY, THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON IN THE RMFAB

MONDAY THE MAGRITTE MUSEUM IS OPEN > 10:00-17:00

TUESDAY TUESDAY CONFERENCE (P 28) > 10:30 Tickets to buy on site

WEDNESDAY 1 ST WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON OF THE MONTH, FREE GUIDED TOUR > 14:00 AMARANT (conferences en NL) www.amarant.be

THURSDAY LES MIDIS DU CINÉMA, Auditorium B, 3 rue de la Régence > 11:30, 12:30, 13:30, 14:30 BROODJE BRUSSEL 24.01, 28.02, 28.03, 25.04, 23.05 & 27.06 2019 à 13:00-14:00 Reservation required MUSEUM NIGHT FEVER, Magritte Museum & Forum 28.02

FRIDAY ÉQUINOXE (guided tour for blind and visually impaired persons) 01.02, 15.03, 26.04 & 17.05 2019 11:00-12:30 Reservation required AMARANT (conferences en NL) www.amarant.be YOGA AT THE MUSEUM (Bernheim Room) > 22.02, 15.03, 22.03 2019 12:15-13:15

26 SATURDAY AMUSEA – LITERARY AND POETIC WALKS IN THE MUSEUMS 16.02, 16.03, 18.05 & 22.06 2019 at 15:00 (www.amusea.com) Ticket to buy on site (€12 for Friends)

SUNDAY AMUSEA – LITERARY AND POETIC WALKS IN THE MUSEUMS 10.02, 24.02, 24.03, 05.05, 26.05 & 30.06 2019 at 11:00 (www.amusea.com) Ticket to buy on site (€12 for Friends) NARRATED AND SIGNED WALKS 03.02, 17.03, 28.04 & 05.05 2019 15:30-17:00 HOLLAN’DAY 03.02 2019 14:00-17:30 MEET THE CURATOR – VISIT THE MAURICE WYCKAERT EXHIBITION WITH MICHEL DRAGUET (F&NL) 24.03 2019 15:00-16:00 Reservation required GUIDED TOUR EXHIBITION WIM DELVOYE 19.05 & 23.06 2019 at 15:00 Ticketing online

INTERNSHIP FOR CHILDREN FILE AU MUSÉE ! THE PHILOSOPHICAL CHILDREN QUESTION THE ARTISTS! 07-08.03 & 17-18-19.04 & 03-04-05.07 2019

Dates are subject to change, please visit the website for more Information: www.fine-arts-museum.be/agenda

Reservation Reservation required on: [email protected] or ticketing online via www.fine-arts-museum.be.

27 HISTORY OF ART AT THE MUSEUM Tuesday conferences Auditorium B Discover our cycles of conferences led by competent professionals, custodians of a knowledge or an experience they want to pass on! These sessions also take stock of the latest research in the history of art. To the ambition of oral transmission and dialogue with the public, the presenters have added that of mixing the approaches: a transversality that opens the door to different readings of the history of art and artistic creation.

From Frans Hals to Maurice Wyckaert, From Pieter Bruegel to Wim Delvoye:

22.01 JOACHIM BEUCKELAER, TRANCHES DE VIE ET SCÈNES DE GENRE AU XVIe SIÈCLE par Céline Talon 29.01 BRUEGEL, PAYSAGES D’HIVER avec Tine Meganck 05.02 FRANS HALS, PORTRAITS DE GROUPES ET RÉUNION DE FAMILLE avec Liesbeth De Belie 12.02 LE SIÈCLE D’OR DES PAYS-BAS (XVIIe SIÈCLE) par Benoît Beyer de Ryke 26.02 BERNARD VAN ORLEY, RENAISSANCE À BRUXELLES par Céline Talon 12.03 L’ABSTRACTION LYRIQUE EN MOUVEMENT. ÉMOTIONS INFORMEL- LES par Anthony Spiegeler 19.03 MAURICE WYCKAERT, PAYSAGES INTÉRIEURS par Michel Draguet 26.03 M… ! ART ET EXCRÉMENTS, DE BRUEGEL L’ANCIEN À DELVOYE LE CONTEMPORAIN par Jean-Philippe Theyskens 02.04 LES VANITÉS EN ART – ÉLARGIR LE CADRE par Geneviève Toussaint

Ticket to buy on site or ticketting online (Friend’s abonnemen : €72)

Art history lectures in NL: www.amarant.be (in collaboration with the mediations services of the RMFAB) Go to https://www.fine-arts-museum.be/en/agenda/2019/ to find all the activities available. 28 Circuit Contemporary Art Circuit guidé Art does not reproduce the visible but makes visible. – Paul Klee

Spend five Saturday afternoons with the wonderful guide Jean-Philippe Theyskens and contemporary art will have no more secrets for you.

Come to discover the places ‘where it happens’ in Brussels! The 2019 spring group is full but we are already taking registrations for the September 2019 group.

Reminder of spring 2019 dates: 23.02, 23.03, 27.04 (Art Brussels), 25.05 & 22.06 2019.

The dates for autumn 2019 will be communicated later. Thank you for visiting our website: www.becomeafriend.be/news

The visits are done on foot and by public transport (thank you for bringing your STIB pass). Compulsory registration by mail to [email protected] and confirmation after payment of €75 on account BE46 3100 4042 4636 / communication: contemporary art circuit September 2019, name and membership card number.

Price: €75 for 5 Saturdays.

29

FRIENDS SUPPORT THE MUSEUM

30 In 2018, the following was made possible thanks to you dear Friends

More than 3,000 primary and secondary school students benefited from free guided tours of the ‘Promises of a face’ and ‘Berlin 1912-1932’ exhibitions.

The Boël Fund provided financial support for the publication of ‘File au Musée’ (Phileas and Autobulle) – on sale at the shops in the museum.

The project ‘2020 Artworks, Belgian art at your fingertips’ is making good progress. Almost 200 notices have already been written and the first line of our future ‘art subway’, piloted by Antoine Wielemans, the lead singer of Girls in Hawaii is already under construction.

Your support allows us to manage the tremendous work of 95 volunteers and to provide support to the museum choir (staff members).

Every day the Friends support the museum, so we thank you sincerely for this. As you may have heard and read in the press, the federal museums are experiencing great difficulties (grant down by 25%, staff down by 20%), while the Friends cannot solve all the problems, the financial support and help from volunteers ­contribute significantly to the functioning of the Museum.

Thank you!

31 2017 & 2018 FRIENDS PATRONS

Mme Noura Ait Said • M. & Mme Étienne Allard • M. & Mme Michel Alloo • M. Gabriel Armand • ASBL Ass. royale des Demeures Historiques • M. & Mme Patrick Baillieux • Mme Suzanne Belgeonne • M. & Mme Jacques & Christiane Berghmans-Waucquez • Dhr. Franz Bingen • Mme Chantal Blanchoud • M. & Mme Harold Boël • M. & Mme Nicolas Boël • M. & Mme Michel Boël-Schumann • Dhr. & Mw. Marc Brosens • Mme Andrée Caillet • M. & Mme Henri et Valentine Cardon de Lichtbuer • M. et Mme Guy & Catherine Cargill • Doctoresse Georgette-Lore Carpent • Mw. Helena Colle • Mme Corneille-Van Beverloo • Comtesse Cécile Cornet d’Elzius • Dhr. Hugo Crauwels • Duchesse Emmeline d’Audiffret-Pasquier • M. & Mme Stéphane Davidts-Douillet • Comte Léopold de Beauffort • M. & Mme Eric & Astrid de Beco-Waucquez • M. et Mme Georges De Jonckheere • Monsieur Jacques de la Béraudiere • Prince et Princesse Amaury & Nathalie de Mérode • M. & Mme Alain De Pauw-Ashraf Amari • M. & Mme Thierry & Solange de Saint Rapt • M. & Mme Adrien de Schietere de Lophem • Mme Claude de Selliers de Moranville • M. & Mme Amaury de Solages • M. et Mme Philippe & Daphne de Spoelberch-Lippitt • Vicomte et Vicomtesse Nicolas de Spoelberch • Baron et Baronne de Vaucleroy • M. Alain De Waele • M. et Mme Defforey • M. Eric Delbeauve • M. & Mme Philippe & Brigitte Delusinne • M. & Mme Henry & Bernadette Delwaide-de St Leger • M. & Mme Philippe Demonceau-Fettweis • M. et Mme Philippe & Anne Doneux-Devadder • M. Michel Draguet • Comte & Comtesse Baudouin du Parc Locmaria • M. & Mme Gerard & Dominique Dumonteil • Graaf en Gravin Hubert & Philippine d’Ursel • M. & Mme Raoul Dutry • Docteur P. Ectors • M. & Mme Fabrice Evangelista-Mely • M. et Mme Alexis & Valérie Froment-Beaumont • M. & Mme Pierre & Francine Gamet-Sorel • Baron et Baronne 32 Roland Gillion Crowet • Dhr. & Mw. Herman en Marina Goossens- Boerjan • Mme Jacqueline Green-Boël • M. Ronald Guttman • Dhr. & Mw. Luc Indekeu • Baron & Baronne Paul-Emmanuel Janssen • Gravin Marthe Buysse-Janssen • Mme Eric Janssen • Mme Jacqueline Juge • M. & Mme Elie & Evelyne Kantcheloff • Mme J.J. Kreglinger • M. & Mme Dominique Lambot • M. & Mme E. Le Jeune- Brasseur • Monsieur Christian Lepage • Monsieur Thierry Lepage • Mme Anne-Marie Libert • M. & Mme Cédric & Cookie Lienart van Lidth de Jeude • M. Marc & Martine Luyckx-Coelis • M. et Mme Luypaert-Maurice • Mme Christiane Martroye de Joly • M. & Mme Eric Mathay • M. Ellis Mathews • Mme Jeanne Huguette Mathieu • M. & Mme M. Mauduit • M. & Mme Olivier Merveilleux du Vignaux • Mme Danielle Minnebier • M. & Mme Erik Mondron • Mme Christine Moyersoen-Begault • M. & Mme André & Marie-Christine Mueller- Chalon • M. & Mme Pierre Opdebeeck • M. & Mme Eric & Evelyn Osterweil-Rokach • M. & Mme Michel Peterbroeck-Coenraets • De Heren Michel & Jean Pirson-Somers • Madame J. & J. Pouppez de Kettenis • M. Tony Pouppez de Kettenis • M. et Mme Tatiane & Gonzalo Renko-Gomez Arrue • M.Roger Robyn • Chevalier William Rosseeuw • M. et Mme Jannis & Laura Sakellariou-Baeza • M. & Mme E. Speeckaert-Cornet d’Elzius • M. & Mme René & Inna Spitaels-Pavlova • M. & Mme Christian Sprangers-Hubrechts • M. & Mme Philippe R. Stoclet • M. Christian Storck • M. & Mme Jan & Cécile Terlinck-Octors • M. & Mme Takashi & Mitsuko Tomomoto • Mme Sinette Tonneau-Paul • Mme Eline Ubaghs • M. & Mme Bertrand et Constance Dumas-Vaghi • Baron & Baronne Hugues & Fabienne van der Straten Waillet-Velge • M. & Mme Marie & Jean-Claude Lemper-Van Droogenbroeck • Chevalier & Mme Nicolas van Outryve d’Ydewalle • M. & Mme André & Michèle Van Ryn-Kuborn • M. et Mme Luc & Anne Vanhaelst • Dhr. & Mw. Roger Verhaegen • M. & Mme Alexis & Corinne Verougstraete-Charles • Mme Ursula von Zitzewitz • M. Paul Waucquez • M. Eric Weinberg • M. Guy Wilwertz • M. & Mme Antoine & Sylvie Winckler-Beaufour • Madame Hélène Zaleski 33

Amuse(u)ment ! for everybody in 2019

Rather than flowers (withering so quickly) or chocolates (bad for the waistline) buy a Friend’s membership card, it’s a gift they will enjoy for a whole year A lasting and non-perishable present... Buy a Friend’s Card as a gift! 300 days to fill you up you with images.

EVERY DAY, THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON IN THE MUSEUMS

EXHIBITIONS IN THE PIPELINE AUTUMN 2019 Dalí & Magritte. 2 Masters of the surrealism talk to each other Pierre Alechinsky Registration Form Choose your category and fill in the form below. Associate Member – € 50/year Associate Member & partner (2 membership cards) – € 75/ year Full Member – € 100/ year Full Member & partner (2 membership cards) – € 150/ year Patron *– € 100/ year + a donation of at least € 150 Patron & partner * (2 membership cards) – € 150/ year + a donation of at least € 150 Family: proof of ID required – € 85/year Duo Young Member (18–25): proof of ID required – € 20/ year

* Full members who, in addition to their membership dues, remit a donation of at least € 150 on the account of Fonds des Amis des Musées, BE81 6790 7542 9624/PCHQBEBB, will be recognized as Patrons of the Museums. Membership fee BE32 3631 2340 9302 / BBRUBEBB Donation BE81 6790 7542 9624 / PCHQBEBB First name | Last name

Address

Post code | City

Tel. | E-mail

Date | Signature

Send to the Friends of the RMFAB: Rue du Musée 9, 1000 Brussels Cover : © Christiane Waucquez : © Christiane Cover

www.becomeafriend.be 36