Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium © 2015 Mikestravelguide. All rights reserved.

Things to do in Brussels – Visit the Musée Fin-de-Siècle Museum

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As the ‘Capital of Art Nouveau’, it’s fitting that Brussels would open a museum that features a nice collection of works from this modern movement. The Musée Fin-de-Siècle Museum is that museum, and its collection, which includes more than just Art Nouveau, is definitely one worth seeing.

The Fin-de-Siècle Museum, which opened to the public in 2013, is one of several collections within the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and as the name indicates, spotlights the artwork produced around the ‘end of the century’ – primarily the art of Belgium and France at the turn of the 20th century.  The various art movements represented in the museum’s collection, in addition to Art Nouveau, include Neo- and Post-impressionism, Realism, and Symbolism.

Gallery Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Several of the more well-known sculptors, designers, and artists whose work is featured in the museum’s collection include Auguste Rodin, Victor Horta, James Ensor, Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac, and Georges Seurat.

Some of what you’ll see includes:

 Orange Market at Blida by Henri Evenepoel Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Orange Market at Blida – Henri Evenepoel, 1898

The Chalk Sellers (At Noon) by Léon Frederic Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Chalk Sellers (At Noon) – Léon Frederic, 1883

White and Black, In the Coolness of the Shade by Herman Richir Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

White and Black, In the Coolness of the Shade – Herman Richir

Ixelles, Rainy Morning by Guillaume Vogels Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Ixelles, Rainy Morning – Guillaume Vogels, 1883

Portrait of Edmond Picard by Jan Roorop Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Portrait of Edmond Picard – Jan Roorop, 1895

The Black Country Borinage by Constantin Meunier Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Black Country. Borinage – Constantin Meunier

Dancing Nymphs by Constant Montald Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Dancing Nymphs – Constant Montald

At the Edge of the Woods Landscape Spring by Alfred Sisley Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

At the Edge of the Woods. Landscape. Spring. – Alfred Sisley, 1885

Festival at Les Invalides by Henri Evenepoel Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Festival at Les Invalides – Henri Evenepoel, 1898

 The Cellar at the Soleil d’Or by Henri Evenepoel Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Cellar at the Soleil d’Or – Henri Evenepoel, 1896

Garden Under the Snow by Constant Montald Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

And the remarkable monochromatic Garden Under the Snow, 1916 by Constant Montald.

Some of our favorites in the pointillist collection are:

Faits du Village VII Girl Darning by Henry van de Velde Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Faits du Village. VII. Girl Darning – Henry van de Velde, 1890

The Seine at Le Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Seine at Le Grande-Jatte – Georges Seurat, 1888

Portrait of Mrs Charles Maus by Theo van Rysselberghe Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Portrait of Mrs Charles Maus – Theo van Rysselberghe, 1890

Coastal Landscape by Alfred William Finch Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Coastal Landscape – Alfred William Finch, 1892

The Calanque by Paul Signac Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Calanque – Paul Signac, 1906

and the paintings by Belgian expressionist painter and founding member of Les XX, James Ensor. These include:

The Lighthouse at Ostend by James Ensor Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Lighthouse at Ostend, 1885

The Drunks by James Ensor Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Drunks, 1883

 Carnival on the Beach by James Ensor Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Carnival on the Beach, 1887

 The Bad Doctors by James Ensor Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Bad Doctors, 1892

 The Strange Masks by James Ensor Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Strange Masks, 1892

 The Scandalized Masks by James Ensor Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

The Scandalized Masks, 1883

The museum’s collection also contains works in other mediums, such as film, photography,

Models of Opera Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

scale models of opera stage sets, as well as the impressive Gillion Crowet collection.  Donated to the museum by Baron and Baroness Gillion Crowet, this collection features over 230 works of decorative art.

Victor Horta’s sycamore desk marble Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

You’ll see tables, including Victor Horta’s sycamore and marble Aubecq Table (ca. 1900), chairs, desks, an artist’s easel,

Face on Fireplace Désiré Muller Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

and a fireplace with human-like features by Désiré Muller.

Magnolias Antonin Daum Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Other items in the Gillion Crowet collection include decorative lamps and light fixtures of molded glass in the shape of flowers, like the magnificent Magnolias from 1903 by Antonin Daum and

Louis Majorelle glazed tilework Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Louis Majorelle, glazed tilework,

Seated Lady by Paul DuBois Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

marble and bronze statues and reliefs, such as Seated Lady (ca. 1893) by Paul DuBois,

Immortality Paul de Vigne Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Immortality  (1881-1884) by Paul de Vigne,

Human Passions by Josef Lambeaux Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Human Passions by Josef Lambeaux, 1889-1899, and a few of our favorites,

Nature by Alphonse Mucha Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

Nature by Alphonse Mucha ca. 1900,

The Thinker by Rodin Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

and The Thinker

Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone by Rodin Fin de Siecle Museum Brussels Belgium

and Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone, two works by Auguste Rodin created between 1880 and 1899.

The Fin de Siècle Museum also provides a multimedia display showcasing the Art Nouveau Architecture of Brussels.

Getting there:

Musée  Fin-de-Siècle  is located in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts) building at Rue de la Régence / Regentschapsstraat 3.

Ticket Info:

Adult Admission (age 26 – 64) = 8.00€; Combo Ticket (Old Masters + Magritte + Modern + Fin-de-Siècle) = 13.00€

Adult Admission (ages 65 and older) = 6.00€; Combo Ticket = 9.00€

Child/Young Adult Admission (ages 4 – 25) = 2.00€; Combo Ticket = 3.00€

FREE on first Wednesday of each month, after 1:00 p.m.

FREE with the Brussels Card

Travel tips:

The ticket line can be long. Holders of the Brussels Card are allowed to skip this line and go directly into the Musée Fin-de-Siècle Museum, printed at home or stored on a mobile phone.

The entrance to the Fin-de-Siècle Museum, which occupies a subterranean portion of the Fine Arts building, is to the right of the atrium just inside the building’s main entrance.

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2 Trackbacks

  1. By Things to do in Brussels see the Musée F... 20 Sep ’15 at 5:19 pm

  2. By Travel Guide | Travelguide 9 Oct ’15 at 9:06 am

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