Monday 24 March 2014

The Fin de Siecle Museum, Brussels

Mask of Cleo de Merode, by Georges Despret, c. 1907
Sorry for the silence last week. I was on a press trip touring the battlefields of Belgium and was kept very busy during a fascinating and enjoyable week. We focused on World War One sites but also took in Bastogne and Waterloo. Expect several articles about the trip on this and other blogs!

On my last morning before flying back to Spain I was left to my own devices and decided to check out the newest museum in Brussels--The Fin de Siècle Museum. It looks at Belgian art from 1868 to the disaster of 1914. While Art Nouveau will be the biggest attraction here, there's also a lot of works from the Realist, Impressionist, Symbolist, and other movements. I've focused on the Art Nouveau here because it's my wife's favorite art style and she doesn't read my blog enough.

Enjoy!


Model of stage decoration for the 1914 performance of Parsifal by Wagner, showing the enchanted garden, second act

Nature, by Alphonse Mucha, 1899-1900
The Dead Women, by Gustav Mossa, 1908. The dead dog is a nice touch
Maleficia, by Philippe Wolfers

6 comments:

Donna Volkenannt said...

Lovely photos. Thanks for posting them,Sean.

One of the most moving trips my family and I took when we lived in Germany was the trip we took to Bastogne. Seeing all those grave markers was sobering.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Some cool stuff! Like the painting.
Hope your wife comments.

D.G. Hudson said...

I love art nouveau, so I think your wife had excellent taste. It was such an elegant design style. Thanks for sharing such beautiful closeup photos, Sean.

Looking forward to reading those posts.

Carol Kilgore said...

Beautiful objects. I love the Mask of Cleo de Merode and the sculpture of Nature the best.

Great that you focused on your wife's favorites :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful photos! Would love to see that museum.

Sean McLachlan said...

Wow, I actually got her to comment on a blog post!

Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Civil War Horror blog, where he focuses on Civil War and Wild West history.

You can also find him on his Twitter feed and Facebook page.