The Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) (; ) are a group of museums in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. They are part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and consist of five museums: the Art & History Museum, the Horta-Lambeaux Pavilion, the Halle Gate, the Museums of the Far East and the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM).

History

First royal and princely collections

From the 15th to the 17th century, diplomatic gifts, mementoes and curiosa owned by the Dukes of Burgundy and subsequently the Habsburg archdukes were displayed in the Royal Arsenal, a large hall in the vicinity of the Palace of Coudenberg. It was there that the first collections, which are now housed in the Royal Museums of Art and History, were established. A large number of art treasures and objects were removed to the imperial museums in Vienna in 1794.

From the Halle Gate to the Cinquantenaire Palace

In 1835, with the intention of giving the independence of the young Belgian State a historical perspective, a ("Museum of Antique Weapons, Armour, Object of Art and Numismatics") was established, headed by Count Amédée de Beauffort. The collections were moved to the ''Palais de l'Industrie'', the left wing of the present Royal Museums of Fine Art. Subsequently named the ("Royal Museum of Armour, Antiquities and Ethnology"), the institution transferred its collections to the recently restored Halle Gate, a surviving gate of the old city wall ringing Brussels. The first head curator was Antoine-Guillaume-Bernard Scheyes and the collections expanded rapidly, thanks to important bequests from such persons as Gustave Hegemans (1861) and Emile de Meester de Ravestein (1874). When the Halle Gate became too small to hold the continually expanding number of items, the decision was taken to split the collections, and in 1889, under the new head curator, Eugène Van Overloop, the objects from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

were moved to the Cinquantenaire Palace, which had been built on the initiative of King Leopold II. In 1906, the ethnographic collection was likewise transferred there, the collection of arms and armour remaining at the Halle Gate. The new museum complex at the Cinquantenaire was named the Royal Museums of Decorative and Industrial Arts. That name was changed in 1912 to the Royal Museums of the Cinquantenaire, but, to prevent confusion, had to be changed yet again when the Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History was also established at the Cinquantenaire in 1922. The institution became the Royal Museums of Art and History, a name that was officially confirmed in 1926, and which has remained unchanged to the present day. In 1925, Eugène Van Overloop was succeeded by the Egyptologist Jean Capart, during whose term of office the museums became a leading scientific institution. Indeed, the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

proved to be an auspicious period for them: the collections of the Cinquantenaire Museum were expanded, funds increased and various research centres were set up; in addition, various scientific expeditions were organised, one of them to Easter Island in 1936.

The museums after the Second World War

The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought a sharp halt to the activities of the RMAH. The collections were taken to safety and, in 1942, Henry Lavachery took over from Jean Capart. Immediately after the war, he began a thorough reorganisation of the institution. In 1946, a fierce fire reduced an entire wing of the Cinquantenaire Museum to ashes, as well as destroying part of the collections housed there. Rebuilding took time and it was only in 1966 that the new wing was inaugurated. The work was expertly led by Count Charles de Borchgrave d'Altena, head curator from 1951 to 1963, and by his immediate successor Pierre Gilbert. All the while, they were expanding the collections (with, among other things, the series of tapestries ''The History of Jacob'') and modernising the museum. Their successors as head curator have continued the work of reorganisation and renovation and since the mid-1980s have seen some eighty big, temporary exhibitions organised, adding to the institution's dynamism.

Museums

The Royal Museums of Art and History form a group of several museums; two of them are located in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark: the Art & History Museum (formerly the Cinquantenaire Museum), which is the institution's headquarters and its most important site, and the Pavilion of Human Passions (1896), a building designed by Victor Horta to house a high-relief sculpture by Jef Lambeaux. Closer to town, the Halle Gate, a vestige of the second walls of Brussels (1381), houses medieval collections. The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) is housed in an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

building, the former Old England department store, on the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg. In addition, the Museums of the Far East, consisting of the Japanese Tower, the Chinese Pavilion and the Museum of Japanese Art, are located a few kilometers from the city centre, in Laeken.

Art & History Museum

The Art & History Museum is a museum of

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean such as the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt, and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures such as Ancient Persia (Iran). Artifact ...

and ethnographic and

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typically excl ...

that occupies most of the southern part of the Cinquantenaire complex. It is one of the constituents of the Royal Museums for Art and History (RMAH), which itself is part of the Belgian federal institute of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO), and is one of the largest art museums in Europe. The museum consists of several parts, including a national collection of artefacts from

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

to the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

period (), as well as from

of the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Artefacts from non-European civilisations, such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

America, and the

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic world, are also on display. Additionally, a collection of European decorative arts includes pieces from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to the 20th century, such as sculptures, furniture, tapestries, textiles, costumes, old vehicles, etc. File:Park of the Cinquantenaire - Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels, 2010 (HDR 2).jpg, Art & History Museum File:Antiquity collection - Cinquantenaire Museum - Brussels, Belgium - DSC09067.jpg, Classical antiquity collection File:Islamic art collection - Cinquantenaire Museum - Brussels, Belgium - DSC09104.jpg, Islamic art collection File:American collections - Cinquantenaire Museum - Brussels, Belgium - DSC08962.jpg, American collection

Pavilion of Human Passions

The Pavilion of Human Passions, also known as the Horta-Lambeaux Pavilion, is a neoclassical pavilion in the form of a

Greek temple Greek temples (, semantically distinct from Latin , " temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since the sacrifices and ritu ...

that was built by Victor Horta in 1896 in the Cinquantenaire Park. Although classical in appearance, the building shows the first steps of the young Victor Horta towards

. It was designed to serve as a permanent showcase for a large marble

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

''The Human Passions'' by Jef Lambeaux. Since its completion, the building has remained almost permanently closed. Since 2014, it is accessible during the summer time. File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Pavillon des Passions humaines - 01.jpg, Pavilion of Human Passions File:Les passions humaines, de Jef Lambeaux.jpg, Detail of the relief made by Jef Lambeaux

Halle Gate

The Halle Gate is a former medieval city gate and the last vestige of the second walls of Brussels. Built in the 14th century, it was heavily restored in the 19th century in its current neo-Gothic style by the architect Henri Beyaert. It is now a museum dedicated to the medieval

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

. File:Porte de Hal - Face nord 01.jpg, Halle Gate File:Bruxelles porte de Hal 900.jpg, Gothic Room

Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) is a music museum that is internationally renowned for its collection of over 8,000 instruments. Since 2000, the museum has been located in the former Old England department store, built in 1899 by Paul Saintenoy out of girded steel and glass in

style, as well as the adjoining 18th-century neoclassical building designed by Barnabé Guimard. File:Old England facade, Brussels (DSCF7544).jpg, Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) File:MiM 29-01-2019 13-58-42.jpg, Exhibition space

Museums of the Far East

The Museums of the Far East is a complex of three museums in Laeken, in the north-west of the

. Consisting of the Chinese Pavilion, the Japanese Tower and the Museum of Japanese Art, it is dedicated to Oriental art and culture, specifically that of China and Japan. These sites have not been open to the public since 2013, and their restoration is expected by 2027. File:Japanse Toren-Japanese Tower - panoramio.jpg, Japanese Tower of the Museums of the Far East File:0 Laeken Pavillon chinois 1.JPG, Entrance to the Chinese Pavilion File:Musées Extrême-Orient 915.jpg, View of one of the principal rooms of the Chinese Pavilion

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Museums Of Art And History Museums in Brussels Art museums and galleries in Brussels History museums in Belgium Museum associations and consortia Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage