Belgium
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| See [[culture of Belgium]] | See [[culture of Belgium]] | ||
| - | == Museums == | ||
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| - | Some of the most impressive museums in Belgium are [[The Royal Museum for Fine Arts]], in Antwerp, which has an admirable collection of works by [[Peter Paul Rubens]], the [[Groeningemuseum]] in [[Bruges]], with the [[Flemish Primitives]], and The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, which has a cinema, a concert hall, and artworks of many periods, including a large [[René Magritte]] collection. | ||
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| - | Furthermore, the [[Plantin-Moretus Museum]] in Antwerp, a [[world heritage]] site, is the complete factory of the largest publishing house of the seventeenth century. | ||
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| - | == Gothic and Renaissance visual arts == | ||
| - | The [[Mosan art]], the [[Early Netherlandish painting|Early Netherlandish]], the Flemish [[Renaissance]] and [[Baroque]] painting, and major examples of [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]], [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]], [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque architecture]], and the Renaissance [[vocal music]] of the [[Franco-Flemish School]] developed in the southern part of the Low Countries, are milestones in the history of art. Famous names in this classic tradition are [[Jan van Eyck]], [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]] and [[Anthony van Dyck]]. This rich artistic production, often referred to as a whole as [[Flemish art]], gradually declined during the second half of the seventeenth century. | ||
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| - | == Modern art == | ||
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| - | In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many original artists appeared. | ||
| - | Belgium has produced famous [[romanticism|romantic]], [[expressionism|expressionist]] and [[surrealism|surrealist]] painters; these include [[Egide Charles Gustave Wappers|Egide Wappers]], [[James Ensor]], [[Constant Permeke]] and [[René Magritte]]. | ||
| - | == music == | ||
| - | In [[music of Belgium |music]], [[Adolphe Sax]] invented the [[saxophone]] in 1846. The first Belgian singer to successfully pursue an international career is the pioneer of [[varieté]] and [[pop music]] [[Bobbejaan Schoepen]]. Jazz musician [[Toots Thielemans]] is world famous, so is singer [[Jacques Brel]]. In rock/pop music [[Front 242]] and [[dEUS]] are well known. | ||
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| - | [[Lou Deprijck]] of Two Man Sound and Plastic Bertrand | ||
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| - | == Architecture == | ||
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| - | In architecture, [[Victor Horta]] and [[Henry van de Velde]] were major initiators of the [[Art Nouveau]] style. | ||
| - | == Literature == | ||
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| - | In literature, Belgium has produced several well-known authors, such as the poets [[Emile Verhaeren]] and novelists [[Hendrik Conscience]], [[Georges Simenon]] and [[Suzanne Lilar]]. The poet and playwright [[Maurice Maeterlinck]] won the [[Nobel Prize in literature]] in 1911. | ||
| - | == Architecture == | ||
| - | The best known [[Franco-Belgian comics]] are ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' by [[Hergé]] but many other major authors of comics have been Belgian, including [[Peyo]] ([[the smurfs]]), [[André Franquin]], [[Edgar P. Jacobs]] and [[Willy Vandersteen]]. | ||
| - | == Cinema== | ||
| - | More recently, notable [[Cinema of Belgium|Belgian cinema]] directors have emerged, most of them strongly influenced by [[French cinema]]. The absence of a major Belgian cinema company has forced them to emigrate or participate in low-budget productions. Belgian directors include [[André Delvaux]], [[Stijn Coninx]], [[Luc Dardenne|Luc]] and [[Jean-Pierre Dardenne]]; actors include [[Jan Decleir]], [[Marie Gillain]]; and films include ''[[Man Bites Dog (film)]]'' and ''[[The Alzheimer Affair]]''. In the 1980s, Antwerp's [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts]] produced the important fashion trendsetters, the [[Antwerp Six]]. | ||
| - | == Contemporary art== | ||
| - | Belgium has a thriving contemporary art scene, with internationally renowned artists such as [[Jan Fabre]], [[Wim Delvoye]] and the painter [[Luc Tuymans]]. | ||
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| - | == Underground music == | ||
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| - | The [[Glimmer Twins]] are Moe and Benoelie, a DJ duo originating from [[Ghent]], [[Belgium]]. They host a residency at the [[Culture Club]] in Ghent. Their musical output can be found on Belgian label [[Eskimo Records]]. [[Ivan Smagghe]] released ''Death Disco'' on Eskimo Records. | ||
Revision as of 10:53, 30 April 2007
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The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg and is one of the founding and core members of the European Union. Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres .
Straddling the cultural boundary between Romance and Germanic Europe, Belgium is linguistically divided. It has two main languages: ca. 60% of its population , mainly in the region Flanders, speak Dutch (while Belgians often refer to it as Flemish), while French is spoken by 40%.
Belgium is well-known for its fine art and architecture. The region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence over European art.
