Guided visit
After the French Revolution brings an end to the Ancien Régime, Europe and the world change at lightning speed. Medieval structures are dismantled and cities are redesigned to make room for industry, mechanization, and leisure. That last concept—leisure—is a relatively new one. In the exhibition, you’ll see, among other things, a magic lantern and board games. The Industrial Revolution lightens heavy labour and makes more products easily accessible to larger parts of the population. Here, the foundation is laid for our modern consumer society: from fast fashion—you’ll see mechanical lace and...
After the French Revolution brings an end to the Ancien Régime, Europe and the world change at lightning speed. Medieval structures are dismantled and cities are redesigned to make room for industry, mechanization, and leisure. That last concept—leisure—is a relatively new one. In the exhibition, you’ll see, among other things, a magic lantern and board games. The Industrial Revolution lightens heavy labour and makes more products easily accessible to larger parts of the population. Here, the foundation is laid for our modern consumer society: from fast fashion—you’ll see mechanical lace and clothing made with sewing machines—to social media—you’ll see a manual telephone exchange and photo cameras—and the 24-hour economy—you’ll see clocks and electric lighting.
The flip side of this progress is the loss of traditional social cohesion and craftsmanship. The need is felt for a new style that captures the spirit of modernity and places people, not machines, at the centre. At the end of the 19th century, Art Nouveau—“new art”—emerges, followed by Art Deco after WWI. It is here, in the development and promotion of this new style, that young Belgium truly shines. Money and raw materials flow from the Belgian colony into the deep pockets of the royal family and wealthy industrialists. They commission exclusive interiors and objects made from luxurious materials such as precious metals and elephant ivory. Masterpieces like The Caress of the Swan by Philippe Wolfers and The Mysterious Sphinx by Charles Vanderstappen adorn world exhibitions. The winter garden of Jean Cousin, designed by Victor Horta, offered a serene and elegant haven. Yet the horrors of the First World War—and even more so those of the Second—upended the established order once more. Tastes shifted dramatically: the appetite for ornate embellishment faded, and voices condemning colonial exploitation grew steadily more insistent. In 1945, a new chapter in history officially begins, marking the end of the modern era.
focus on the decorative arts of the 19th century. Neoclassicism, Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Rococo, Eclecticism, and the beginnings of Art Nouveau. Curious about what all that means? In the 19th-century you can walk through 100 years of successive styles along a catwalk of objects. Discover how the bourgeois home evolved with the introduction of the dining room and bathroom, and explore the shifting role of children within the emerging nuclear family. Please mention this preference on the request form
