Museums of Brussels are very interesting sights of the Belgian capital. Each tourist should visit them. Here you will find fascinating masterpieces for every taste: from classical art to modern, from unique musical instruments to all kinds of chocolate. In this article we will talk about the most interesting places in the city.
Unique collection of paintings and sculptures
The first Brussels Museum that you should definitely visit is located in Ixelles. This is a suburb of the Belgian capital. Here you will find an impressive collection of sculpture and painting, which is owned by the government. This is a whole complex of museums in Brussels, which includes several sites. They are a collection of ancient and modern art.
The Royal Museum of Art in Brussels was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801. A few years earlier, confiscation of works of art was carried out in the Belgian capital when the Austrian Netherlands was occupied by the revolutionary troops of France. Partly paintings and sculptures were transported to Paris. The remaining ones became the basis of this collection.
After the overthrow of Napoleon, all confiscated values were returned to the owners and the state. Today at the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels there is an opportunity to get acquainted with the complete collection. The funds expanded significantly during the time of King William I. In 1835, Leopold I decided to create a Museum of Belgian artists. Later, both collections (royal and urban) were combined. So the Museum of Art in Brussels appeared in its current form.
Today, a 19th-century collection of works is kept in the Habsburg Palace. More recently, a building was added to the museum. This is due to the fact that a huge number of works by modern masters have gathered in the collection.
Masterpieces of Flemish painting
In the next museum in Brussels from our list, you have the opportunity to get acquainted with several unique collections at once. For example, Flemish.
Here are collected more than one thousand works of European art from the XIV to XVIII centuries. The basis of the collection is Flemish painting. Almost all the artists of this region are represented by their most significant works.
The Royal Museum in Brussels has in its funds the famous Pieta by Rogier van der Weyden. There is also the famous painting "The Annunciation" by Robert Kampen, paintings by Petrus Christus, Dirk Bouts, Hugo van der Hus.
The museum has seven portraits of the work of Peter Brueghel (the elder), including The Adoration of the Magi, The Fall of the Risen Angels, and The Census in Bethlehem.
A large number of paintings presented Rubens. In addition, in this collection you will find the paintings "Deer Hunting" and "Pantry" by Frans Sneijders, "Wedding" by Peter Brueghel (Jr.), "Drinks in the Courtyard" by Adrian Brauer.
Dutch, Italian and French painting
Separately, it is worth mentioning the work of their countries. I must admit that the Dutch collection as a whole looks rather modest, but differs in the uniqueness of the exhibits. Here, visitors will see several portraits of Frans Hals, the painting "General Glass" by Peter de Hoch, the work of Rembrandt, "Meal" by Gabriel Metsu.
The most popular exhibit in these rooms is the famous triptych of Jerome Bosch, “The Temptation of St. Anthony”.
French painters are represented by the works of Jean-Baptiste Greese, Hubert Robert, Claude Lorrain. In the Italian halls the Venetian school prevails. Here you will find Jacopo Tintoretto, Carlo Crivelli, Giambattista Tiepolo.
Also among the examples of ancient art are kept the magnificent works of Lucas Cranach (Sr.).
Modern Art
The basis of the museum was the work of local Belgian artists. Next to the novelist Antoine Joseph Wierz, sculptures by Constantine Meunier, whose characters are non-standard characters, look interesting. These are miners, coal miners and other workers.
The pride of the collection is Salome by Alfred Stevens, who is considered the most famous representative of Belgian impressionism. The museum also presents the works of Fernand Knopf, James Ensor.
Here you will find a large collection of works by Belgian surrealists. You will be especially impressed by the paintings of Paul Delvaux with typical railroad scenes.
Rene Magritte
In a separate magnificent building (its area is two and a half thousand square meters), the works of Rene Magritte are placed. It is located on the Royal Square in the Belgian capital. This is part of a large-scale architectural complex built in the neoclassical style.
Magritte was a Belgian artist who worked in the genre of surrealism. He left behind a huge number of mysterious and mysterious works. The Magritte Museum in Brussels has dozens of paintings. Ticket price is ten euros. Preferential entry for pensioners - 8 euros, for youth - three euros.
Museum of Musical Instruments
It is one of the world's largest collections of musical instruments. It has collected more than eight thousand traditional, academic and folk musical instruments. The museum in Brussels was founded in 1877. Most of it is made up of artifacts donated to King Leopold II. This is a collection of 19th-century Belgian musicologist Francois-Joseph Feti and Indian folk instruments.
At the end of the XIX century and the beginning of XX, the organologist Charles Mayon was the curator of the museum for several decades. He compiled a five-volume catalog of all exhibits and transferred his unique instruments to the collection. Also, the Belgian composer and teacher Francois Auguste Gewart contributed to its development. In particular, he organized a series of concerts of ancient music on historical instruments that were no longer used.
After World War II, the medievalist Roger Bragar and musicologist Nicolas Meyus worked on the collection.
Initially, the museum itself was located in the Brussels Conservatory. But since 2000, the permanent exhibition has moved to a historic building, built in 1899 in the style of Art Nouveau.
Traveling exhibitions are periodically organized; contemporary masters such as Bernard and Francois Bachet perform concerts.
Chocolate Museum
It is one of the most interesting places in the city. This is a two-story house located in a side street near the Grand Place. It is very easy to find it by its delicious aromas. It is worth recognizing that in Belgium chocolate appeared only in the second half of the XVIII century. At first it was used exclusively as a medicine. However, the country has been one of the leading chocolate producing countries in the world for the past century. It was here that pralines were invented, chocolate candies were invented, and they began to add filling to them.
The Chocolate Museum in Brussels is also a store. As soon as you find yourself in it, the aroma of melted chocolate immediately envelops you.
The exhibition presents the entire history of this product, from the time of the Mayans and Aztecs, who began to be the very first to cultivate cocoa trees and prepare this drink of the gods. Then they will tell you how chocolate got to Europe.
Of course, the most interesting is the process of making real Belgian chocolates. Visitors will be able to visually see all stages of production, learn how chocolate figures are made, and if desired, take part in this fascinating process themselves.
Museum of Horta
Once in Brussels, you should definitely visit the exposition dedicated to the work of the architect Victor Orth, who became one of the founders of the Art Nouveau style. The museum is located in the house where the master himself once lived and worked. Since 2000, this building, along with three more mansions made according to its design, has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Construction on the project of Horta was completed in 1901. But even after that, the architect constantly made some changes and improvements. In 1906, a garden appeared near the house. Horta later enlarged the studio, added a winter garden and an outdoor terrace. After the construction of the garage in 1911, the appearance of the space in front of the house changed beyond recognition.
In 1919, the building was acquired by Major Pinte, and later two of its parts were completely separated from each other.
The residential part of the house was acquired by the commune of Saint Gilles in 1961. Then they arranged a museum in it. A few years later, reconstruction was carried out, after which the building began to fully comply with its purpose.
Permanent exhibition
Inside, there is a permanent exhibition, which includes a collection of furniture in the Art Nouveau style, art objects and tools used by Horta and his contemporaries.
The medium-sized building was used by the architect as a laboratory in which he experimented by studying various construction methods. He applied the best technologies that were available to him at that time. This building is known to many thanks to the glass ceiling, which is located directly above the main staircase.
