The Archives of the City of Brussels on display

100 years: Nobel laureate Jules Bordet, a Pasteur Institute graduate (and founder) at the ULB

In 2019, ULB paid homage to one of its most prestigious scholars: Jules Bordet, awarded the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine in 1919 for his work in immunity. He was the first Belgian to win this prestigious prize. One hundred years later, Jules Bordet’s scientific legacy is still very much with us.

The exhibition traces the career and discoveries of this great researcher in immunology, through historical documents, scientific objects, works of art, films, and photographs. The exhibition clearly and accessibly explains his fundamental discoveries in combatting infectious diseases. It covers the legacy of Jules Bordet’s work and his many developments in the fields of serodiagnosis, vaccination, and serotherapy, particularly for the treatment of cancer or rejection of transplanted organs.

The exhibition includes works by artists that are derived from bio-art, stimulating reflection and discussion on current applications of biotechnologies.

Among the documents on display you will find pieces kept by the Archives of the City of Brussels, lent for the occasion.

These pieces are from the Public Instruction Archives en from the Iconographic Collection.

This exhibition is to be seen from October 8 till December 22, 2019 at  Espace Allende - ULB.

Borman and sons. The best sculptors

Sculptor Jan BORMAN worked in Louvain in the late 15th century. His son, Jan II, took over from his father and settled in Brussels. Successive generations saw the Borman name become known throughout Europe up to the 17th century. They left to posterity a series of statues of saints, funerary monuments and altarpieces bearing witness to their artistry.

The Archives of the City of Brussels are lending two manuscripts relating to the Confrérie Notre Dame de Sept Douleurs, which was founded at the Church of Saint-Géry in 1498. One is the Liber authenticus  sacratissimae utriusq. sesus Christi fidelium Confraternitatis Septem Dolorum Beatae Mariae Virginis Nuncupatae, a very beautiful armorial manuscript. The other manuscript is an account book entitled Eersten en outsen boeck der proosten rekeninge van OLV van Seven Ween. 1498-1516, acquired by the Archives in 2012 and exhibited for the first time.

This exhibition is to discover from 20 September 2019 to 26 January 2020 at the M - Museum Leuven.

SPACES – Interior design evolution

Miroir des modes de vie et de consommation, notre intérieur est le témoin des grands bouleversements sociaux et des avancées technologiques de notre société.

Son histoire se recoupe et s’imbrique avec celle de l’architecture, du design et des arts décoratifs mais aussi de la culture populaire, des sciences sociales et économiques.
Dès la seconde moitié du 19e siècle l’architecture d’intérieur tend vers plus de modernité véhiculée par les revues belges d’architecture et de décoration. Principaux vecteurs d’un véritable « art d’habiter », ces revues nous offrent un panorama des tendances et des courants de chaque époque. Ces publications sont révélatrices d’une nouvelle manière de penser les intérieurs et vont être les premiers moyens de diffusion du travail des professionnels de l’aménagement. En effet décorateurs, ensembliers, architectes d’intérieur et enseignes d’ameublement vont participer à l’assimilation du design d’intérieur dans notre quotidien.

Au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, l’industrialisation de la fabrication de meubles et le développement du design permettent de démocratiser la décoration qui devient ainsi un produit de consommation. L’esthétique de ces dix dernières années oscille entre une vision écologique et responsable de l’intérieur et l’incarnation d’un mode de consommation d’objets et de nouveautés

Parmi les documents exposés, se retrouvent quelques pièces conservées par les Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles, prêtées pour l’occasion.

Ces pièces sont issues de l'album des projets originaux d'intérieurs et de mobiliers en style Art Déco réalisés par l'architecte-décorateur Fernand Chambon.

Cette exposition est à découvrir du 29 mai au 03 novembre 2019 au ADAM - Brussels Design Museum.

Bernard van Orley. Brussels and the Renaissance

Bernard van Orley was one of the pivotal figures of the Renaissance in the Low Countries. BOZAR and other prominent Belgian institutions are teaming up for the first major monographic exhibition devoted to this 16th century artist. Van Orley was a painter at the court of Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary and was inundated with commissions. As a young man he was already at the head of one of the biggest workshops of his time. He painted religious subjects and also designed wall tapestries and stained glass windows. In this exhibition special attention is paid to his portraits that place him at the centre of an important network of political advisors, influential clergymen and humanist thinkers. His work was in constant dialogue with that of contemporaries such as Albrecht Dürer and Raphael. 

From all over the world works by Van Orley will travel back to the place where they were once created, to be reunited in one historic exhibition. A unique opportunity to (re)discover this Brussels master.

Among the documents on display you will find pieces kept by the Archives of the City of Brussels, lent for the occasion.

These pieces are from the epitaph of Saint-Géry church and relate to the tomb of Van Orley 

This exhibition is to be seen from February 20th till May 26th 2019 at BOZAR.

Fernand Khnopff. Le maître de l’énigme

At once painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor, Fernand Khnopff, born in Grembergen (Termonde) on September 12th 1858 and passed away in Brussels on November 21st 1921, is considered one of the great representatives of the symbolism.

As rare artist, the master of Belgian symbolism has not had a retrospective in Paris for nearly forty years.

The exhibition " Fernand Khnopff. Le maître de l'énigme" features about 100 iconic pieces of the artist’s complex aesthetics. It includes documents, kept by the Archives of the City of Brussels, on loan for the occasion.

This exhibition is to be seen from December 11th 2018 till March 17th 2019 at the  Petit Palais in Paris.

Kids Menu. A great story of the little eaters

The birth of a child remains an incredible miracle of nature. But after ? Unlike in the animal world, where instinct predominates, humankind has continually questioned what has been best for feeding children.

From the earliest times, adapted containers have been used to feed babies. But what did they drink? And why are children so fond of sweets and fast food today? Is it really essential for their growth?

Let yourself be surprised by the great story of feeding our little eaters!

Among the documents on display you will find many pieces kept by the Archives of the City of Brussels, lent for the occasion.

Extension to November 30 2019 at the Brussels Museum of the Mill and Food. (PDF, 1.94 MB)

Under the covering of the Senne by BXL Confidential

The Archives of the City of Brussels have provided documents for an educational report produced by BXL Confidential.

"Do you like Brussels? Do you sometimes wonder about the name of a street of the meaning of a monument? You are in the right place! Thanks to its author Frédéric Goldschmidt, Bxl Confidential reveals the outlines and details of Brussels history through the names of the places you see every day"

The episode we are talking about here, BXI CONFIDENTIAL #4 | Under the covering of the Senne, looks at the history of a well-known waterway, the Senne.

Some of our archives are given pride of place in this report.

Gender@war 1914-1918: Men and women at war

11am on 11 November 1918: the Armistice was declared. The crowds celebrated and applauded the end of the war. For the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, La Fonderie presents Gender@war 1914-1918, an exhibition starting on 6 May designed by CARHIF that will feature original items.

These items include small treasures from the Archives of the City of Brussels collections.

They comprise three notebooks from Germaine Lartigue's war journal (Journal of our impressions during the war).

We selected several extracts from the first volume (26.06.1914 to 23.09.1914).

This is a unique document and comes from a series of 11 bound notebooks that form the hand-written journal produced in Brussels by Germaine Lartigue (Ixelles 1896-?), daughter of Lieutenant-General Emile Lartigue (Brussels 1868-1943), during the First World War, from 26 June 1914 to 3 February 1919.    

It is a wonderful testimony to its time and contains almost daily notes, as well as occasional annexes containing additional information (transcriptions of press articles, extracts of reports, etc.).

The exhibition is open from Sunday 6 May to Sunday 21 October 2018 in the La Fonderie buildings.

Enjoy your visit.

Giants !

From 17 May 2018, the Centre Albert Marinus is dedicating an exhibition to the gigantic, terrifying or well-meaning beings that have featured in our imaginations since ancient times. According to folklorist Albert Marinus, processions of giants express the need to translate our ideas and feelings into reality. In our regions (the Netherlands), the archives testify to the existence of giants throughout the area in the 15th century: Goliath, the horse Bayard (with the four Aymon sons) and Saint George confronting the Dragon. This exhibition reveals the many facets of these characters and biblical and legendary heroes who are much more daunting than common mortals.

The documents on display include a number of items held by the Archives of the City of Brussels and on loan for the occasion.

The exhibition is open from 17 May to 2 September 2018 in the remains of the  Palais du Coudenberg, the former Brussels residence of Emperor Charles V.