Sculpture 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 ...

has been created 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 present day. The city has been an uninterrupted centre of autonomous training in the art of sculpture and has produced a long continuity of sculptors who were born and trained in Brussels or who came there to train. This style or school is sometimes referred to as the Brussels school of sculpture (; ). Brussels' sculpture began to shine in the second half of the 14th century with Claus Sluter's arrival in the city and the construction of the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. It continued without interruption and reached its momentum during 15th and 16th centuries.''Le Folklore brabançon'' (in French), 1976, p. 103 : "''Ces chefs-d'œuvre appartiennent tous deux, à la sculpture bruxelloise, très florissante aux xv^e et xvi^e siècles''". Until the end of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, sculptors in Brussels were members of the ''Quatre Couronnés'' Guild of the Nation of St Nicholas and then the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

History

Brussels' sculpture began to assert itself in the second half of the 14th century with the arrival of the Dutch sculptor Claus Sluter, who was probably trained in the city, and who lived there from 1380 to 1385, before settling in

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, France. The art reached its momentum during the 15th and 16th centuries thanks to uninterrupted corporate training. Around 1500, the most notable sculptors of

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s were the Borreman(s) (notably Jan Borreman the Elder and the Younger, and Passchier Borreman). Among the sculptors who benefited most from the cultural policy of the Archdukes Albert VII and Isabella were the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

-born Robrecht Colyns de Nole and the Brussels-born Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder (best known for his ''

Manneken Pis (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a Nudity, naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the mid-15th century, ''Manneke ...

''). Until the end of the

, the training of sculptors in Brussels took place mainly within the framework of the ''Quatre Couronnés'' Guild of the Nation of St Nicholas, and was later taken up by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Brussels, alongside

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

and Antwerp, played a dynamic role in the field of sculpture in the former

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

. The archives bear witness to the existence of numerous active workshops training apprentices. The sculptors of

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

were also influenced by those of Brussels.Dominique Hollanders-Favart, Roger Van Schoute, ''Le Dessin sous-jacent dans la peinture: Colloque III, 6-7-8 September 1979 : le problème Maître de Flémalle-van der Weyden'' (in French), College Erasme, 1981, p. 17 : "''une grande vogue dans la sculpture bruxelloise et dans celle des centres secondaires qui en dérivent, comme c'est le cas de Louvain''".

Sculptors

Among the sculptors born in Brussels or who were active there, one can mention: Jan Borreman (fl. 1479–1520), Jérôme Duquesnoy (I) (1570?–1641?), François Duquesnoy (1597–1643), Jerôme Duquesnoy (II) (baptised 1602–1654), Jan van Delen (1635/1636–1703), Jan Cosijn (1646–1708), Cornelis van Nerven (c. 1660–1715), Marc de Vos (1650–1717),

Peter van Dievoet Peter van Dievoet (; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Peeter van Dievoet'', French language, French: ''Pierre van Dievoet'', Latin: ''Petrus''; 16611729) was a Flemish Baroque sculptor, statuary, wood carver and designer of ornamental architectural elem ...

(1661–1729), Jan de Kinder (1675–1739), Pierre-Denis Plumier (1688–1721), Jacques Bergé (1693–1756), François Lejeune (1721–1790), Jean-Baptiste Fleuriot-Lescot (1761–1794, guillotined), and

Gilles-Lambert Godecharle Gilles-Lambert Godecharle (2 December 1750 in Brussels − 24 February 1835 in Brussels) was a Belgian sculptor, a pupil of Laurent Delvaux, "the only sculptor of international repute in Delvaux's retinue", who became one of two outstanding repr ...

(1750−1835).

Gallery

File:Jacques le Majeur Bruxelles XVe s.JPG, ''Saint

James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

'', wood sculpture by an unknown author, 15th century, now in the

Art & History Museum The Art & History Museum (; ) is a public museum of antiquities and ethnographic art, ethnographic and decorative arts located at the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is one of the constituent ...

File:Maison de l'Agneau Blanc by Peter Van Dievoet detail.jpg, ''The White Lamb'', by

, Maison de l'Agneau Blanc, /, 1696 File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Maison de la Louve - 05.jpg, ''

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...

being suckled by the she-wolf'', by Marc de Vos, ( or )

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

, Grand-Place/Grote Markt, 1696 File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Hôtel de ville - Cour - 04.jpg, ''The Scheldt'', by Pierre-Denis Plumier, courtyard of Brussels' Town Hall, 1715 File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Fontaine de Minerve - 01.jpg, Fountain of Minerva, by Jacques Bergé, /, 1751 File:Bruxelles Palais de la Nation 01.jpg, ''Justice punishing Vices and rewarding Virtues'', by

, pediment of the

Palace of the Nation The Palace of the Nation (; ; ) is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium, housing the Belgian Federal Parliament. The Parliament consists of both the Chamber of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house), which convene in ...

, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 1781–82

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

Printed books

* '' Messager des sciences historiques, des arts et de la bibliographie de Belgique'', Ghent, 1854: "Archives des Arts, des Sciences et des lettres, sculpteurs et sculptures, Noms des sculpteurs qui ont fait partie du métier des Quatre-Couronnés à Bruxelles, depuis 1621 à 1716"
read online
* Guillaume Des Marez, ''L'architecte Jean Van Ruysbroeck et le xv^e siècle Bruxellois'', Brussels, 1923. * J. Duverger, ''De Brusselsche steenbickeleren, beeldhouwers, bouwmeesters, metselaars enz. der xiv^e en xv^e eeuw'', Ghent, 1933. * ''Annales de la Société royale d'archéologie de Bruxelles'', Brussels 1921. * Brigitte D’Hainaut-Zveny, ''Miroirs du sacré. Les retables sculptés à Bruxelles. xv^e-xvi^e centuries'', CFC-Éditions, Brussels, 2005, ({{ISBN, 2-930018-55-0).

Manuscripts

* ''Notice des peintres, sculpteurs, architectes et graveurs, natifs de Bruxelles, avec la liste de leurs principaux ouvrages''. Manuscript in-folio of 223 pages, from the library of Georges-Joseph Gérard, obtained by the government of The Netherlands and transposed at The Hague. * History of Brussels Culture in Brussels