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Bank account of “National Trust Belgium” (NTAB)
BE17 0016 2443 2021
We will spend our afternoon in the BELvue Museum, the 18th century former Bellevue Hotel, the place were nobility and artistic elite met, once the residence of the future King Leopold and Queen Astrid and a refuge for the Red Cross, before becoming a museum.
As we mark 100 years of Art Deco, it seems fitting to close our annual programme with a visit to the ‘Art Deco – style in a changing society’-exhibition at the BELvue Museum close to the Royal Palace in Brussels.
Art Deco’s enduring influence feels still very much alive in Brussels. The exhibition is showcasing Art Deco pieces from the King Baudouin Foundation. We will discover how this ‘modern’ and iconic style reflects the ways the world changed post-World War I and how a vibrant era of new relationships between social classes, technical progress and a flourishing art scene came about, a time when women claimed their role in society and everyday objects were elevated to the status of works of art.
The two co-curators of the exhibition kindly accepted to be successively our guides (English and French). Each of them will take us on a one-hour tour through sculptures and objects by renowned artists such as Marcel Wolfers and Oscar Jespers and the glassware of Val Saint Lambert.
We will also visit the unique and enchanting Coudenberg Palace, the underground but well-restored remains of the palace of Charles V, another place of elegance in a period of changing societies.
Once upon a time this Palace towered over the city of Brussels, until it was consumed by a terrible fire in the 18th century. Every trace of this prestigious building disappeared underground.
Today, the ruins constitute a fascinating and beautifully restored archaeological site incorporating the remains of the former banqueting hall (Aula Magna), the Chapel and the Rue Isabelle, which ran to what is today the Saint-Michel Cathedral.
It is here that emperor Charles V stunned the world by announcing unexpectedly his abdication in 1555, ‘breaking news’ at the time.
We will visit the site in two groups, each one with the same English-speaking guide. After the visits we come together for our traditional end-of-year reception at the BELvue Museum.
We meet in the BELvue Museum, Place des Palais, 7 (the right wing of the Royal Palace) in central Brussels. Both the Art Deco exhibition and the Coudenberg Palace are accessed from the Museum.
You can have a light lunch from 12.00 onwards (not included in the programme) in the Museum’s restaurant Les Filles, known for its healthy, responsible and home-made food.
Do not forget to bring your MuseumPASSmusées with you, if you have one (and paid €36 instead of €50).
13:00 Our traditional ‘welcoming coffee’ in the Museum’s restaurant Les Filles, before the start of our programme. We meet with our guides at the lobby of the Museum. Given the exiguity of the Art Deco exhibition rooms, we were asked to split in two groups, one English-speaking, the other French-Dutch speaking.
13.30 Start of the Art Deco exhibition for the English-speaking group. Our guide will be one of the co-curators of the exhibition, Mr. Werner Adriaenssens. Tour in English. Start of the Coudenberg Palace visit for the other (French-Dutch-speaking) group in English.
14.30 The two groups switch. Start of the Art Deco exhibition for the French-Dutch-speaking group. Our guide will be the other co-curator of the exhibition, Mrs. Cécile Dubois. Tour in French. Start of the Coudenberg Palace visit for the English-speaking group.
15.30-17.00 End of year reception in the lobby of the BELvue Museum.
How to get there: