Author Description

Paris had been the center of the art of painting in the 19th century. Those from various European towns, who wished to work with the grandmasters of art, and who were interested in the new developments all headed to Paris. There happened to be a distinction between artists having contributed in the academic art and the ones who rejected the traditions while seeking artistic freedom. All the while, efforts of innovative artists paved way to stylistic developments. Paris art circles were center of attraction also for Belgian artists through the 19th century. But, as an enthusiastic and energetic city of arts Brussels, too, was appealing to artists. They organized events as alternative to the official Paris Salon, and artists, writers, poets, illustrators and composers carried on with their intense artistic activities. Belgian artist Henry Van de Velde is one of the pioneers of art and design movement, namely Art Nouveau, which has had much influence both in Europe and North America during 1890-1914. In Belgium, it was represented by a group of artists who kept holding events one after the other. The Group of Twenty (Groupe des Vingt), formed by Octave Maus in 1883, is best known among them. (...) One other evidence pointing at how contemporary art in Paris was closely followed by artists in Brussels is the exhibition, opened by the Galerie Durand-Ruel at the Hotel Grand Minoir in Brussels in June 1885, which hosted paintings by Monet, Renoir and Degas. (...) “The Luminists” exhibition is happy to present a rich selection of Belgian art of painting to all art lovers with seventy two selected artworks from the Arkas Collection.