Bruno Destrée (1867-1919) was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk, a French-language poet, and a Belgian literary critic. He was the brother of the politician

Jules Destrée Jules Destrée (; Marcinelle, 21 August 1863 – Brussels, 3 January 1936) was a Walloon lawyer, cultural critic and socialist politician. The trials subsequent to the strikes of 1886 determined his commitment within the Belgian Labour Party. ...

. Bruno Destrée was a monk at

Maredsous Abbey Maredsous Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery at Maredsous, in the municipality of Anhée, Wallonia, Belgium. It is a founding member of the Annunciation Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. The abbey was founded as a priory on 15 ...

and later at

Keizersberg Abbey Keizersberg Abbey, also known as Mont César Abbey (; ) is a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery on the hill ''Keizersberg'' or ''Mont César'' in the north of the university town of Leuven, Belgium. History The site The ''Keizersberg ...

in Leuven. He was interested in the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

Biography

Georges Destrée was born in

Marcinelle Marcinelle (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home ...

August 10, 1867. He was the younger brother of the politician Jules Destrée. Like his elder brother, he studied law at the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

. It was then he started putting his father's first name, Olivier, before his own. He collaborated as an art columnist in the magazine ''

La Jeune Belgique ''La Jeune Belgique'' (meaning ''The Young Belgium'' in English) was a Belgian literary society and movement that published a French-language literary review ''La Jeune Belgique'' between 1880 and 1897. Both the society and magazine were founded b ...

'', where he met Max Waller,

Albert Giraud Albert Giraud (; 23 June 1860 – 26 December 1929) was a Belgian poet who wrote in French. Biography Giraud was born Emile Albert Kayenbergh in Leuven, Belgium. He studied law at the University of Leuven. He left university without a de ...

and

Iwan Gilkin Iwan Gilkin (7 January 1858 – 28 September 1924) was a Belgian poet. Born in Brussels, Gilkin was associated with the Symbolist school in Belgium. His works include ''Les ténèbres'' (1892, featuring a frontispiece by Odilon Redon) and ''Le ...

. Anglophile, he was really enthusiastic about Pre-Raphaelite painting: in 1894 he published ''Les Préraphaélites : notes sur l’art décoratif et la peinture en Angleterre'', the very first essay on this movement in French. In the ''Revue général'' of October 1895, he gave a nearly complete translation of "La Lampe de la mémoire", the sixth chapter of ''

The Seven Lamps of Architecture ''The Seven Lamps of Architecture'' is an extended essay, first published in May 1849 and written by the English art critic and theorist John Ruskin. The 'lamps' of the title are Ruskin's principles of architecture, which he later enlarged upon i ...

''; a few years later, Marcel Proust’s reading of that text would be decisive in his own business of translating John Ruskin’s work. He then collaborated with the Catholic magazine ''

Durendal Durendal, also spelled Durandal, is the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. The sword is famous for its hardness and sharpness. Sources including '' La Chanson de Rola ...

''. He gradually got closer to Catholicism and decided in October 1898 to enter the Order of St. Benedict. He took the name of Dom Bruno and later left Maredsous abbey to enter Keizersberg Abbey in Leuven. He was ordained priest in 1903. In 1911, he collaborated with his brother to organise the exhibition ''Les Arts anciens du Hainaut''. He died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

on 30 October 1919 in Leuven.

Works

* 1891 – ''Journal des Destrée'' * 1894 – ''Poèmes sans rimes'', available on Internet Archive * 1894 – ''Les Préraphaélites : notes sur l’art décoratif et la peinture en Angleterre'', available on Internet Archive * 1895 – ''The Renaissance of Sculpture in Belgium''
available
on Internet Archive * 1897 – ''Les Mages'' * 1898 – ''Trois Poèmes : Sainte Dorothée de Cappadoce ; Sainte Rose de Viterbe ; Saint Jean Gualbert'' * 1904 – ''La Mère Jeanne de Saint-Mathieu Deleloë : une mystique inconnue du xviie siècle'' * 1908 – ''Au milieu du chemin de notre vie'' * 1910 – ''Les Bénédictins'' * 1911 – ''L'Âme du Nord'' * 1913 – ''Impressions et Souvenirs'' * 1913 – ''L’Orfèvrerie religieuse : l’œuvre de Jan Brom'', available on Internet Archive

References

* Cynthia J. Gamble, ''Proust as Interpreter of Ruskin : The Seven Lamps of Translation'', Birmingham, Summa Publications, 2002 (), chap. 4 ("Proust’s Ruskinian epiphany"), pp. 52–55.

Bibliography

* Laurence Brogniez, "Georges-Olivier Destrée et la religion de l’art : de l’esthète au converti", in Alain Dierkens (ed.), ''Problèmes d’histoire des religions : Dimensions du sacré dans les littératures profanes'', vol. 10, Brussels, Éditions de l’université de Bruxelles, 1999, pp 33–42 *

Henry Carton de Wiart Henry Victor Marie Ghislain, Count Carton de Wiart (1869–1951) was a Belgian writer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 20 November 1920 to 16 December 1921. Early life On 31 January 1869, Henry Carton de Wiart was ...

, ''La Vocation d’Olivier-Georges Destrée'', Paris, Flammarion, coll. "''Notre clergé''", 1931, 248 p. * Geneviève De Grave, ''Dom Bruno Destrée : l’esthète, le converti, le moine'', Liège, La Pensée catholique, coll. "''Études religieuses''", 1942, 22 p. * René Dethier, ''Les Écrivains de chez nous : Dom Bruno Destrée (Olivier-Georges)'', vol. VI, Charleroi, Éditions de la Jeune Wallonie, s.d., 12 p. * Arnold Goffin, "Olivier-Georges Destrée", ''Durendal'', no. 12, 1898, pp. 991–1000. * Pierre Nothomb, ''Une conversion esthétique : Olivier-Georges Destrée'', Brussels, Action catholique, coll. " ''Science et foi'' ", 1913, 51 p. * Gladys Turquet-Milnes, "The Destrée Brothers: The Neo-Catholic Movement and Socialist Movement", in ''Some Modern Belgian Writers: A Critical Study'', New York, Robert M. McBride & Co., 1917, pp. 129–149. * Idesbald Van Houtryve, " Destrée (Georges of Olivier-Georges) ", in ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

'', vol. XXXIII, Brussels, Établissements Émile Bruylant, 1965, col. 247-251.

External links

catalogue.bnf.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Destree, Bruno 1867 births 1919 deaths Belgian Benedictines Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni 19th-century Belgian poets 19th-century Belgian male writers 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests Belgian male poets