Les XX
Encyclopedia
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus
Octave Maus
Octave Maus was a Belgian art critic, writer, and lawyer.Maus worked with fellow writer/lawyer Edmond Picard, and they together with Victor Arnould and Eugène Robert founded the weekly L'Art moderne in 1881....
. For ten years 'Les Vingt' , as they called themselves, held an annual exhibition of their art; each year twenty international artists were also invited to participate in the exhibition. Artists invited over the years included: Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
(1887, 1889, 1891), Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
(1886, 1889), Georges Seurat (1887, 1889, 1891, 1892), Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
(1889, 1891), Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
(1890), and Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
(1890, 1891).
Les XX was in some ways a successor to the group L'Essor
L'Essor
L'Essor is the state-owned national daily newspaper published in Bamako, Mali. Its motto is "La Voix du Peuple" .-History:...
. The rejection of Ensor
James Ensor
James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Flemish-Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life...
's 'The Oyster Eater' in 1883 by L'Essor Salon, following the earlier rejection by the Antwerp Salon, was one of the events that led to the formation of Les XX.
In 1893, the society of Les XX was transformed into "La Libre Esthétique
La Libre Esthétique
La Libre Esthétique was an artistic society founded in 1893 in Brussels to continue the efforts of the artists' group Les XX dissolved the same year...
".
It was founded on 28 October 1883 in Brussels and held annual shows there between 1884 and 1893, usually in January-March. No president or governing committee. The group was formed by 11 artists dissatisfied with the conservative policies of the organization L’Essor and the official academic Salon. L'Essor ('Soaring') was set up also in opposition to the Salon, but with a strong bureaucratic element of twenty Essorians comprising a governing committee. Octave Maus (lawyer, journalist, art critic) acted as the secretary of Les XX, which was free of stifling regulations. The extent of governing was done by a rotating committee of three which organized the exhibitions. In addition to the twenty members, twenty international invitees would also exhibit. During the exhibitions, there were also literary lectures and discussions, and performances of new classical music, organised from 1888 on by Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
, with from 1889 until the end in 1893 very frequent performances by the Quatuor Ysaÿe.
Octave Maus, Edmond Picard and Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet who wrote in the French language, and one of the chief founders of the school of Symbolism....
(Belgian poet) were the driving force of the associated review, L'Art Moderne, created in 1881. There was a close tie between art, music and literature among the Les XX artists.
Eleven founding members
- James EnsorJames EnsorJames Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Flemish-Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life...
1860-1949 (member until 1893) - Théo van RysselbergheThéo van RysselbergheThéo van Rysselberghe was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the century.-Early years:...
1862-1926 (member until 1893) - Fernand KhnopffFernand KhnopffFernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff as a Belgian symbolist painter.- Youth and Training :...
1858-1921 (member until 1893) - Alfred William FinchAlfred William FinchAlfred William Finch was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style.-Life and work:Alfred William Finch was born in Brussels, Belgium to English parents and lived his later life in Finland....
- Frantz CharletFrantz CharletFrantz Charlet was a Belgian painter, etcher, and lithographer. An Impressionist, he was one of the founding members of the group Les XX...
b 1862 - Paul Du BoisPaul Du BoisPaul Du Bois was a Belgian sculptor and medalist, born in Aywaille, and died in Uccle.Du Bois was a student of Eugène Simonis and Charles van der Stappen...
- Charles Goethals c1853–85
- Darío de Regoyos (Spanish)
- Willy SchlobachWilly SchlobachWilly Schlobach was a German-Belgian painter. In 1884, he was one of the founders of Les XX, a group of artists known for their hazy atmospheric paintings...
b 1864 - Guillaume van Strydonck 1861–1937
- Rodolphe WytsmanRodolphe WytsmanRodolphe Paul Marie Wytsman was a Belgian Impressionist painter.He trained at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, he was one of the founding members of Les XX.- Origin :...
1860–1927
Nine invited members
- Guillaume Vogels
- Achille Chainaye 1862–1915
- Jean Delvin 1853-1922
- Jef LambeauxJef LambeauxJef Lambeaux was a Belgian sculptor born in Antwerp. He studied at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts, and was a pupil of Jean Geefs. His first work, War, was exhibited in 1871, and was followed by a long series of humorous groups, including Children dancing, Say Good Morning, The Lucky Number and;...
- Périclès PantazisPériclès PantazisPériclès Pantazis was a major Greek impressionist painter of the 19th century that gained a great reputation as an artist initially in Belgium.- Life :...
(Greek) 1849-1884 - Frans Simons 1855–1919
- Gustave Vanaise 1854–1902
- Piet VerhaertPiet VerhaertPiet Verhaert was a Belgian painter, a member of les XX-Description:Painter and etcher of townscapes, interiors, figures and portraits. Also a notable painter of decorative panels. Trained at the Academy of Antwerp, originally studying sculpting but switched to painting. Travelled to The...
1852–1908 - Théodore Verstraete 1850–1907
Twelve later invited members
- Felicien RopsFélicien RopsFélicien Rops was a Belgian artist, and printmaker in etching and aquatint.-Early life:Rops was born in Namur as the only son to Nicholas Rops and Sophie Maubile. He was educated at the University of Brussels...
1833-1898 - Georges LemmenGeorges LemmenGeorges Lemmen was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter. He was a member of Les XX from 1888. His works include The Beach at Heist, Aline Marechal and Vase of Flowers...
1865-1916 (member from 1888) - George MinneGeorge MinneGeorge Minne was born in Ghent as the son of an architect . Birth names : Georgius Joannes Leonardus...
1866-1941 - Anna BochAnna BochAnna Rosalie Boch was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Vaast, Hainaut. Anna Boch died in Ixelles in 1936 and is interred there in the Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium.-Artistic style:...
1848-1926 (member from 1885-1893: only female member) - Henry van de VeldeHenry van de VeldeHenry Clemens Van de Velde was a Belgian Flemish painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium...
(member from 1888) - Guillaume Charlier
- Henry De GrouxHenry de GrouxHenry de Groux was a Belgian Symbolist painter, sculptor and lithographer. His 1889 painting Christ aux Outrages, widely described as his masterwork, depicted Jesus being attacked by a mob...
- Robert PicardRobert PicardRobert Rene Joseph Picard is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player.-Career:Robert Picard established himself as a highly regarded defensive prospect with the Montreal Juniors and Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge from 1973 to 1977...
b 1870 - Jan TooropJan TooropJean Theodoor Toorop , better known as Jan Toorop, was an Indo painter, whose works straddle the space between the Symbolist painters and Art Nouveau.-Biography:...
(Dutch) - Odilon RedonOdilon RedonBertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.-Life:...
(French) - Paul SignacPaul SignacPaul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
(French) - Isidore VerheydenIsidore VerheydenIsidore Verheyden was a Belgian painter of landscapes, portraits and still life. He was a member of Les XX from 1884 to 1886...
(member from 1884-1888)
The ten Annual Exhibitions of Les XX, 1884-1893
The 1884, 1885 and 1886 exhibitions were held at the Palais des Beaux-ArtsCentre for Fine Arts, Brussels
The Paleis voor Schone Kunsten or Palais des Beaux-Arts is cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. Often referred to as "Bozar" or "PSK", construction was completed in 1928 and includes exhibition and conference rooms, movie theater and concert hall which serves as home to the National Orchestra of...
in Brussels. The later exhibitions were al held at the Museum of Modern Art
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium , is one of the most famous museums in Belgium.-The museum:...
of Brussels.
1884
The first of ten annual exhibitions was held on 2 February at the Palais des Beaux-ArtsCentre for Fine Arts, Brussels
The Paleis voor Schone Kunsten or Palais des Beaux-Arts is cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. Often referred to as "Bozar" or "PSK", construction was completed in 1928 and includes exhibition and conference rooms, movie theater and concert hall which serves as home to the National Orchestra of...
in Brussels.
Apart from the members of Les XX, there were exhibitions by Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann was a German-Jewish painter and printmaker best known for his etching and lithography.-Biography:...
.
Catulle Mendès
Catulle Mendès
Catulle Mendès was a French poet and man of letters.Of Portuguese Jewish extraction, he was born in Bordeaux. He early established himself in Paris and promptly attained notoriety by the publication in the Revue fantaisiste of his Roman d'une nuit, for which he was condemned to a month's...
discussed Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
.
1886
Exhibits of Pierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
, Odilon Redon
Odilon Redon
Bertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.-Life:...
and Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
, including Le pont d'Argenteuil and La Manneporte à Étretat.
First performance of César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
's Violon Sonata.
1887
Walter SickertWalter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
, Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
, Berthe Morisot
Berthe Morisot
Berthe Morisot was a painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt.In 1864, she exhibited for the first...
and Georges-Pierre Seurat
Georges-Pierre Seurat
Georges-Pierre Seurat was a French Post-Impressionist painter and draftsman. He is noted for his innovative use of drawing media and for devising a technique of painting known as pointillism...
exhibit, with Seurat and Signac present at the opening. The major work shown is Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
In July, Les XX had an exhibition in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, The Netherlands.
1888
Exhibits of Albert Dubois-PilletAlbert Dubois-Pillet
Albert Dubois-Pillet , was a French painter and army officer.He graduated from the École Impériale Militaire at Saint-Cyr in 1867, and fought the Franco-Prussian War, during which he was made prisoner by the Germans...
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
, Henri-Edmond Cross
Henri-Edmond Cross
Henri-Edmond Cross was a French pointillist painter.- Life and career :Cross was born in Douai and grew up in Lille. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. His early works, portraits and still lifes, were in the dark colors of realism, but after meeting with Claude Monet in 1883, he painted in...
, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Paul Signac
Paul Signac
Paul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
and Odilon Redon
Odilon Redon
Bertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.-Life:...
.
First performance of Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
's Poème des Montagnes.
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was a French symbolist writer.-Life:Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to a distinguished aristocratic family...
was one of the invited writers.
1889
Camille PissarroCamille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
, Maximilien Luce
Maximilien Luce
Maximilien Luce was a French Neo-impressionist artist. A printmaker, painter, and anarchist, Luce is best known for his pointillist canvases. He grew up in the working class Montparnasse, and became a painter of landscapes and urban scenes which frequently emphasize the activities of people at work...
, Henri-Edmond Cross
Henri-Edmond Cross
Henri-Edmond Cross was a French pointillist painter.- Life and career :Cross was born in Douai and grew up in Lille. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. His early works, portraits and still lifes, were in the dark colors of realism, but after meeting with Claude Monet in 1883, he painted in...
, Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte was a French painter, member and patron of the group of artists known as Impressionists, though he painted in a much more realistic manner than many other artists in the group...
, Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, Albert Dubois-Pillet
Albert Dubois-Pillet
Albert Dubois-Pillet , was a French painter and army officer.He graduated from the École Impériale Militaire at Saint-Cyr in 1867, and fought the Franco-Prussian War, during which he was made prisoner by the Germans...
, Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
and Georges Seurat exhibit. Included is Gauguin's masterpiece Vision After the Sermon
Vision After the Sermon
Vision after the Sermon is an oil painting by French artist Paul Gauguin in 1888. It is now in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. It depicts a scene from The Bible, where Jacob wrestles an angel. It depicts this indirectly, through a vision or hallucination that the women depicted see...
.
At the first concert, the music was composed by César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
, Pierre de Bréville
Pierre de Bréville
Pierre Onfroy de Bréville was a French composer.-Biography:Pierre de Bréville was born was born in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse. Following the wishes of his parents, he studied law with the goal of becoming a diplomat. However, he abandoned his plans after a few years and entered the Conservatoire de Paris...
, Ernest Chausson
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
, Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
and Julien Tiersot
Julien Tiersot
Julien Tiersot born in Bourg-en-Bresse on 5 July 1857 and died in Paris on 10 August 1936, was a French musicologist, composer and a pioneer in ethnomusicology.- Biography :...
. The music was played in part by the Quatuor Ysaÿe, as happened in the next few years. The second concert was centered around Gabriel Fauré, with additional music by d'Indy, Charles Bordes
Charles Bordes
Charles Bordes was a French music teacher and composer.-Timeline:Bordes studied pianoforte with Antoine François Marmontel and composition with César Franck. He was organist and maître de chapelle at Nogent-sur-Marne from 1887 to 1890...
and Henri Duparc.
In July, Les XX had an exhibition in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, The Netherlands.
1890
Exhibits by invited artists including Odilon RedonOdilon Redon
Bertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.-Life:...
, Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, Paul Signac
Paul Signac
Paul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
, Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life, in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air...
, Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
and Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
.
Three concerts were given, with the first centered around Belgian composers like Auguste Dupont, Léon Soubre, Joseph Jacob
Joseph Jacob (cellist)
Joseph Jacob was a Belgian cellist who taught at the Ghent Conservatory and played in the Ysaÿe Quartet from 1886.Jacob's students included Rosario Bourdon....
, Paul Gilson
Paul Gilson
Paul Gilson was a Belgian musician and composer.-Biography:Gilson was born in Brussels. In 1866, his family moved to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied theory with the organist and choir director Auguste Cantillon, and began writing works for orchestra and choir...
and Gustave Huberti. The second and third concert focused on the French composers, with works by Fauré, Franck, d'Indy, and Castillon in the second concert. Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
performed his Symphonie Cévenole in the third concert. Other composers whose work was performed were Fauré, Franck, Bréville, Bordes, Chausson, Albéric Magnard
Albéric Magnard
Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard was a French composer, sometimes referred to as the "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers...
and Paul Vidal
Paul Vidal
Paul Antoine Vidal was a French composer, conductor and music teacher.Paul Vidal was born in Toulouse. He studied at the conservatoires in Toulouse and in Paris, under Jules Massenet in the latter. He won the Prix de Rome in 1883, one year before Claude Debussy did...
.
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
gave a lecture on Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was a French symbolist writer.-Life:Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to a distinguished aristocratic family...
; Edmond Picard
Edmond Picard
Edmond Picard Edmond Picard Edmond Picard (15 December 1836, Brussels – 19 February 1924, Dåve (now Namur) was a Belgian jurist and writer.Edmond Picard was lawyer at the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation of Belgium. He was also head of the Belgian bar association, professor of law,...
discusses Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
, Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet who wrote in the French language, and one of the chief founders of the school of Symbolism....
and Charles Van Lerberghe
Charles van Lerberghe
Charles van Lerberghe was a Flemish symbolist poet writing in French.His poetry was set by Gabriel Fauré in the song cycles La chanson d'Ève and Le jardin clos....
.
1891
Exhibitions of Georges Seurat, Camille PissarroCamille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
, Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life, in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air...
, and Jules Chéret
Jules Chéret
Jules Chéret was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of Belle Époque poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster. -Biography:...
.
First exhibitions of decorative art, including posters and book illustrations by Walter Crane
Walter Crane
Walter Crane was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most prolific and influential children’s book creator of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway, one of the strongest contributors to the child's nursery motif that the genre of...
, Alfred William Finch
Alfred William Finch
Alfred William Finch was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style.-Life and work:Alfred William Finch was born in Brussels, Belgium to English parents and lived his later life in Finland....
's first attempts at ceramics, and three vases and a statue by Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
. Retrospective for Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
. Catalogue cover designed by George Lemmen.
Memorial concert for César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
and a second concert with new work by Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
, and work by other followers of Franck, including Bordes, Duparc, Bréville, Chausson, Tiersot, Vidal,and Camille Benoît. Also played was work by Fauré and Emmanuel Chabrier
Emmanuel Chabrier
Emmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist. Although known primarily for two of his orchestral works, España and Joyeuse marche, he left an important corpus of operas , songs, and piano music as well...
. A third concert focused on Russian composers, with works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, Alexander Borodin
Alexander Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
, Nicolas de Stcherbatcheff, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
and Alexander Kopylov
Alexander Kopylov
Alexander Alexandrovich Kopylov or Kopilov was a Russian composer and violinist....
.
1892
Pottery exhibited by Auguste Delaherche, and embroidery designs by Henry Van de VeldeHenry van de Velde
Henry Clemens Van de Velde was a Belgian Flemish painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium...
. Invited artists include Maximilien Luce
Maximilien Luce
Maximilien Luce was a French Neo-impressionist artist. A printmaker, painter, and anarchist, Luce is best known for his pointillist canvases. He grew up in the working class Montparnasse, and became a painter of landscapes and urban scenes which frequently emphasize the activities of people at work...
, Léo Gausson and Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
.
Retrospective of Georges Seurat with 18 paintings, including La Cirque and La Parade.
Three concert evenings were organised. The first concert presented the first version of Paul Gilson
Paul Gilson
Paul Gilson was a Belgian musician and composer.-Biography:Gilson was born in Brussels. In 1866, his family moved to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied theory with the organist and choir director Auguste Cantillon, and began writing works for orchestra and choir...
's La Mer, Guillaume Lekeu
Guillaume Lekeu
Guillaume Lekeu was a Belgian composer of classical music.- Life :Lekeu, who was born in Verviers, Belgium, took his first lessons at the conservatoire in that city. In 1879, his parents moved to Poitiers, France. There, he finished school while he continued his music studies autodidactically...
's Andromède and music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
, Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
, and Franz Servais. The second showcased music by Alexis de Castillon
Alexis de Castillon
Alexis de Castillon was a French composer of classical music....
, César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
, Charles Bordes
Charles Bordes
Charles Bordes was a French music teacher and composer.-Timeline:Bordes studied pianoforte with Antoine François Marmontel and composition with César Franck. He was organist and maître de chapelle at Nogent-sur-Marne from 1887 to 1890...
, Louis de Serres and Emmanuel Chabrier
Emmanuel Chabrier
Emmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist. Although known primarily for two of his orchestral works, España and Joyeuse marche, he left an important corpus of operas , songs, and piano music as well...
. The final concert included the first performance of Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
's Suite in D and Ernest Chausson
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
's Concert. The other music played was composed by Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
, Charles Bordes, Camille Chevillard
Camille Chevillard
Camille Chevillard was a French composer and conductor.He was born in Paris, France. He led the Lamoureux Orchestra in the premieres of Debussy's Nocturnes and La mer . He was the son-in-law of conductor Charles Lamoureux...
and Albéric Magnard
Albéric Magnard
Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard was a French composer, sometimes referred to as the "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers...
.
1893
More design was exhibited, including a table by Alfred William FinchAlfred William Finch
Alfred William Finch was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style.-Life and work:Alfred William Finch was born in Brussels, Belgium to English parents and lived his later life in Finland....
, embroidery by Henry Van de Velde
Henry van de Velde
Henry Clemens Van de Velde was a Belgian Flemish painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium...
, and objects by Alexandre Charpentier
Alexandre Charpentier
Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier was a French sculptor, medalist, craftsman, and cabinet-maker. From working-class origins and apprenticed to an engraver as a young man, he became a studio assistant to the innovative medallist Joseph-Hubert Ponscarme...
.
Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
discussed the contemporary poetry.
The first concert was centered around work by César Franck and the first performance of Ernest Chausson
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
's Poème de l'amour et la mer The second concert contained works by d'Indy, Castillon, Fauré, Chabrier and Bréville. The third and final concert featured the première of Guillaume Lekeu
Guillaume Lekeu
Guillaume Lekeu was a Belgian composer of classical music.- Life :Lekeu, who was born in Verviers, Belgium, took his first lessons at the conservatoire in that city. In 1879, his parents moved to Poitiers, France. There, he finished school while he continued his music studies autodidactically...
's Violin Sonata, with also performances of compositions by Charles Smulders, Paul Gilson
Paul Gilson
Paul Gilson was a Belgian musician and composer.-Biography:Gilson was born in Brussels. In 1866, his family moved to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied theory with the organist and choir director Auguste Cantillon, and began writing works for orchestra and choir...
, Dorsan van Reysschoot and Alexis de Castillon
Alexis de Castillon
Alexis de Castillon was a French composer of classical music....
.
Primary sources
- Octave Maus: L’Espagne des artistes (Brussels, 1887).
- Octave Maus: Souvenirs d’un Wagnériste: Le Théâtre de Bayreuth (Brussels, 1888).
- Octave Maus: Les Préludes: Impressions d’adolescence (Brussels, 1921).
- Madeleine Octave Maus: Trente années de l'lutte pour l'art, Librairie L'Oiseau bleau, Bruxelles 1926; reprinted by Éditions Lebeer Hossmann, Bruxelles 1980
Secondary sources
- Autour de 1900: L'Art Belge (1884-1918). London: The Arts Council, 1965.
- BLOCK Jane, Les XX and Belgian Avant-Gardism 1868-1894, Studies in Fine Arts: The Avant garde, Ann Arbor: UMI Research press, 1984.
- Les XX, Bruxelles. Catalogue des dix expositions annuelles, Brussels: Centre international pour l'étude de XIXe siècle, 1981.
- STEVENS Mary Anne & HOOZEE Robert (eds.), Impressionism to Symbolism: The Belgian Avant-Garde 1880-1900, exhib. cat. London: Royal Academy of Arts, London 7 July - 2 October 1994.