Artl@s Bulletin Volume 2 Issue 2 Do Maps Lie? Article 5 2013 Les XX in the City: An Artists’ Neighborhood in Brussels Laurence Brogniez Faculté de Philosophie et Leres, Université Libre de Bruxelles, [email protected]Tatiana Debroux Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, [email protected]Follow this and additional works at: hps://docs.lib.purdue.edu/artlas is document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. is is an Open Access journal. is means that it uses a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Readers may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. is journal is covered under the CC BY-NC-ND license. Recommended Citation Brogniez, Laurence and Tatiana Debroux. "Les XX in the City: An Artists’ Neighborhood in Brussels." Artl@s Bulletin 2, no. 2 (2013): Article 5.
Transcript
Artl@s BulletinVolume 2Issue 2 Do Maps Lie? Article 5
2013
Les XX in the City: An Artists’ Neighborhood inBrusselsLaurence BrogniezFaculté de Philosophie et Lettres, Université Libre de Bruxelles, [email protected]
Tatiana DebrouxFaculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/artlas
This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] foradditional information.
This is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Readers may freelyread, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. This journal is covered under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
Recommended CitationBrogniez, Laurence and Tatiana Debroux. "Les XX in the City: An Artists’ Neighborhood in Brussels." Artl@s Bulletin 2, no. 2 (2013):Article 5.
AbstractInthisarticlewefocusuponthespatialityoftheartisticcircleLesXX,inBelgiumandinEurope. We study the installation of the circle’s members in both Brussels and thecontextofthecity’slocalartisticgeography.Onezoneseemstohavebeenafocusofthegroup’s creative and social life: the suburbof Ixelles, inparticular, theneighborhoodaroundtheruedel’Abbaye.Thisareawashometomanyartists,includingAnnaBoch,whosevillabecameasortofsecondhometoLesXX.Throughcartographicanalysisandthedescriptionofthisenvironment,webringintoquestionthepossibleexistenceofanartisticneighborhoodinBrusselsattheturnofthe20thcentury.
RésuméDanscetarticle,nousnousintéressonsàlaspatialitéducercledesXX,àl’échellebelgeetde l’Europe.Nousétudionsensuite l’inscriptiondesvingtistesauseindu territoirebruxellois et de la géographie artistique locale. Un espace semble avoir polarisé lacréationetlasociabilitédesXX:lefaubourgd’Ixelleset,enparticulier,lesalentoursdelaruedel’Abbaye.Celle‐ciahébergédenombreuxartistes,dontAnnaBoch,quiferadesavillaunfoyerpourlesXX.Atraversuneanalysecartographiqueetladescriptiondecetenvironnement,nousquestionnonsl’existenced’unquartierartistiqueautournantdu20esiècle.
*LaurenceBrogniezisaprofessorofliteraturewhoseresearchinterestsincludecomparativearts,culturalhistoryandliteraryrepresentationsofBrusselsinthelate19thcentury.TatianaDebrouxisageographer.Herwork,focusedonaperiodfromthe19thcenturytothepresentday,investigatesthe social, spatial,anddynamic structures ofurban zonesasmanifested through their culturalsitesandactors.TheyarebothpartoftheMICM‐arcproject(micmarc.ulb.ac.be).
BrogniezandDebroux–LesXX intheCity
39 ARTL@SBULLETIN,Vol.2Issue2(Fall2013)DoMapsLie?
This research was conducted as part of aninterdisciplinary project called “Culture,Mobility,Territory. Emergence and Transformation ofBrussels’ Metropolitan Identity (18th‐21stCenturies)” known by the acronym “MICM‐arc.”1The project brings together historians, specialistson art, literature, and music, sociologists,geographers and urbanists in the goal ofinvestigating the possible convergence betweennotions such as cultural neighborhoods, sites ofmobility, and metropolitan identity, using mapsand cartography as the principal tool of dialoguebetweendisciplines.
In thisarticle,weseektoshowwhatcartographycan bring to the study of a celebrated group ofartists from Brussels, Les XX, as well as anemblematicmemberof theirgroup,AnnaBoch. ItisourintentiontorevisitthequestionsofLesXX’sspecificity by combining the study of art historyandurbanhistory ina reflectionupon thenotionoftheartisticneighborhood.
Some of the questions we address include: Didthereexistaparticular“BrusselsofLesXX”whichmightbedefinablethroughnotableconcentrationsof artists in particular zones? Do these areasdeserve the label “artistic neighborhoods”?Whatcan they tell us about the urban and socialstructures of the city at the end of the 19thcentury?ThemembersofLesXXwere influentialon both a national and international level at theturn of the century, but did they, in one way oranother, leave theirmark on the city of Brusselsthrough their choice of residence, mutualproximity, mobility within, and usage of thecityscape? By seeking to reconstruct the spacewithinwhichthemembersofLesXXcirculatedona small scale, by considering where they camefrom (in the case of international members) andtheareaswhichtheyoccupiedinBrussels,wealsohope toquestion thespecificityof thisgeographyin comparison to both that of artists in general
1http://micmarc.ulb.ac.be/
during the same period, and to their clients andpatronsthatfrequentedLesXX.2
Followingthisanalysis,wecontinueourinquiryatalocallevel,focalizingontheareaaroundtheruedel’Abbaye–addressofchoiceformanymembersofLesXXandtheirimmediatecircles.Wefocusinparticular upon the house of an artist who, as apainter, musician, and art collector, as much asthroughthecirclesofsociabilitygeneratedbyherhomeandplaceofwork, brought together artistsand bourgeois art‐lovers in a liminal zone of theexpandingcity.
The fact that certain cities or neighborhoods oftoday have greater concentrations of artists hascaused researchers to question the limits andconditions of these areas. Taking their place in aline of theories on human capital and discourseson creative cities,3 much of this research hasresultedincityrankingsshowinggradationsintheconcentration of artists or cultural industries,4whereas others have been more concerned withshowing the outlines of the zones occupied byartists on an intra‐urban scale in a desire toanalyze urban transformations and the economicredevelopmentofparticularneighborhoods.5
Still other authors take a different approach,concentrating their analyses and reflectionsuponzonesofartisticactivityasasubjectinandofitself.Thepresenceofartistsandculturalinstitutionsisnolongerseenasanelementofeconomicgrowth
or the result of policies of urban renewal, butstudiedasanimportant,structuringdimensionofcontemporary cities. The work of geographersBorisGrésillonandCamilleBoichotbelongstothiscategory.6 Through the mapping of artisticactivities in Berlin and Paris, both authorsinterpret the creation of these centers of artisticactivity (centralitésartistiques), their interactions,and their insertion within the urban landscape.Although Grésillon and Boichot use differentmethodsandhavedifferentambitions,aswiththefirst two groups of studies, the contours of thezonestheydefineresultfromthesuperpositionofmultiple dimensions of artistic endeavor(education,creation,dissemination,etc.).
Thissuperpositionoffunctioncanalsobefoundinthe definitions created by historians and arthistorians interested in the spatial dimension ofartistic phenomena (although only a few of themactuallyproducemaps).7
Instigator of a thematic issue ofHistoire urbainedevoted to artistic neighborhoods, MélanieTraversier explains, “The ‘artistic neighborhood’designates an infra‐urban zone concentrating theactivities of artistic creation and consumption,definedmoreorlessassuchbyitsparticipants.”8
Alongside artists’ places of residence and theexistence of “artists’ neighborhoods,” it is alsonecessary to consider the geography of artists’working spaces, places of education andsocializing, aswell as thoseofotheractors in theart world (critics, gallery owners, clients) to beable to define the contours of the artisticneighborhoods that compose urban culturalscenesandtakepartinthedevelopmentofthecityon a general level. Particular spaces and uniquepractices havebeen revealed through this sort of
6BorisGrésillon,“Villeetcréationartistique.Pouruneautreapprochedelagéographieculturelle,”AnnalesdeGéographie,vol.660‐661(2008):179‐198;CamilleBoichot,“Centralitésartistiquesetrecompositiondesespacesurbains:lesenjeuxd'unegéographiedel'artàParisetàBerlin,”MondesduTourisme,septembre2011,350‐361.7 It is only recently that cartographic efforts have multiplied notably [email protected]éatriceJoyeux‐Prunel,“ARTL@S:Une histoire spatiale et transnationale des arts. Origines et positions d’unprogramme de recherche,” ARTL@S Bulletin For a Spatial History of Art andLiterature 1, no. 1 (Fall2012):9‐26; Félicie de Maupeou and Léa Saint‐Raymond,“Cartographiedeslieuxd’expositionàParis,de1850ànosjours,”ARTL@SBulletin1,no.1(Fall2012):41‐47.8MélanieTraversier,“Lequartierartistique,objetpourl'histoireurbaine,”HistoireUrbaine,no26(2009):7.
comprehensive analysis, such as the activitieswhich brought together artists, antique dealers,and a bourgeois clientele in the developingsuburbs of late 19th century Paris.9 As artisticneighborhoods are also spaces of humanexperience, other kinds of sources (interviews,correspondence, fictional stories, documentaries,etc.) can lend insights beyond those revealedthroughstatisticalsources.
Through the information found in the exhibitioncatalogsofLesXXandrecollectionsofAnnaBoch’shome,weattempttoretrace thespacesofLesXXandLaLibreEsthétiqueandtheirramificationsona national and international level beforeinvestigating the development of a particularartists’ neighborhood centered around Boch’sdomicile.
Brussels’ Artistic Scene Studiedona Small ScaleUsingLesXX:AMacrogeographicApproach
LesXX
The group Les XX and its “successor,” La LibreEsthétique, have been the subject of numerousstudies.10 Given the avant‐garde logics of suchcircles, these studies tend to concentrate on thegroups’ aesthetic choices, function, andexhibitions.The latterweremarkedbythedesireto innovate–andaneliteaudiencewasattractedtothesalonsthoroughaprogramofconcerts,andlectures, and other activities. It is our desire toextend these studies by considering the role ofspace, posingquestions about the residences andurban practices of the artists involved in Les XXandLaLibreEsthétique.
The international perspective of these circles’salons, under the direction of their organizer,Octave Maus, contributed toward the 9ManuelCharpy,“Lesateliersd'artistesetleursvoisinages.EspacesetscènesurbainesdesmodesbourgeoisesàParisentre1830‐1914,”HistoireUrbaine,no.26(2009):43‐68.10Mostrecently,seeforexamplethecollectivevolumeBruxelles,convergencedesarts(1880‐1914),editedbyHaineandLaoureuxin2013.
BrogniezandDebroux–LesXX intheCity
41 ARTL@SBULLETIN,Vol.2Issue2(Fall2013)DoMapsLie?
“deprovincializing” of Brussels. Maus, profitingfrom Brussels’ geographic position at a culturalintersection,hopeditwouldbecomeapionneeringcenter ofmodern art, “avant‐garde” in the truestsense of the term. He therefore sought out todiscovernewtalent,beitinart,music,ortheatre.Manyotherwriters, critics, artists, and leadersofthe Belgian art world hoped to play the role oftrail‐blazers,intermediaries,veritablemidwivesofan exchange between North and South, betweenGermanic and Latin cultures, perhaps with theidea of shifting the axes of cultural influence inEurope. In the mid‐19th century, the romanticpainter Antoine Wiertz had already dreamed oferecting Brussels as the capital of Europe and ofconstructinganaxisrunningfromLondonthroughBrussels toBerlinwithoutpassing throughParis!Attheturnofthe20thcentury,Brusselsseemedtofinally reach this goal, shedding its peripheralpositionandprovincialreputation,ashiftinwhichLesXXsurelyplayedacertainrole.
ConsideringLesXXandLaLibreEsthétiquefromageographic point of view allows for a departurefrom theapproaches thathavemarkedstudiesofthesegroups–morequalitativethanquantitative,more aesthetic than sociological. While drawingfrom these previous studies, recent research hasattempted to isolate the collective reasoning thatmotivated the salons, their organizers, artists,members, patrons, and publics. In her doctoraldissertation,“UnMondepourlesXX.OctaveMausetlegroupedesXX:analysed’uncercleartistiquedans une perspective sociale,” Noémie Goldmanconcentrated upon the role played by the“protectors” of Les XX, the Brussels patrons andcollectorsthatwerecentralintheartmarketthatemerged in the group’s wake.11 Thanks to herwork, it is now possible to map the residentiallogicoftheenlightenedelitesoinvolvedinOctaveMaus’senterprise.LaurenceBrogniezandVanessaGemishavelookedintothepresenceofwomeninLes XX and La Libre Esthétique, which was farfromlimited,asithasoftenbeenimplied,tothatof
Anna Boch (to whom we shall return furtherbelow).12 The study of addresses of women whoshowedart,sang,gavelectures,acted,andservedaspatronsormodelstoLesXXwouldallowfora“gendered”topographyofthisturnofthecenturyBrussels art microcosm while also revealing theurban practices of a particular group of Brusselswomenduringtheperiod.
WhatExhibitionCatalogsReveal
Every year during the ten years of Les XX’sexistence,asalonwasorganizedat thePalaisdesBeaux‐Arts13 to allow thepublic to discover theirlatest work. A catalog was published for eachsalon, and today, these documents allow us toreconstitute the exhibitions and their relatedevents.Thecatalogsreproducenotonlythenamesof the forty‐someartistswhoseworkwasshown,bothmembers and guests, but their addresses aswell. Using this information, it is possible, as hasalreadybeendonefortheartistsoftheSalonsdesBeaux‐ArtsinBrussels,14toretracetheresidentialgeographyoftheparticipatingartists,notonlyforthe city of Brussels but, to a lesser extent, forEurope. This information was encoded in adatabaseandgeoreferencedtocreatemapswhichallowustoanalyzethespatialityofLesXX,aswellthe extent of its networks on an internationallevel.15
All of the addresses, including second homes,given by the artists participating in exhibitionsfrom1884to1893weretakenintoconsideration,whether residents of Brussels or beyond. At thisstage in our research, we have not yetdistinguishedbetweenindividualyears.Themapspresented here combine the residencies of all oftheexhibitingartists,membersandguests,eachof
12LaurenceBrogniezandVanessaGemis,“Lesfemmes,lesXXetLaLibreEsthétique:entreombreetlumière,”inBruxelles,convergencedesarts,editedbyMalouHaineandDenisLaoureux.227‐247.Paris:Vrin,2013.13This iscurrentMuséed’Artancien,ontheruede laRégence,not tobeconfusedwithtoday’sPalaisdesBeaux‐Arts/BOZAR,whichwasinauguratedjustdownthehillin1928.14TatianaDebroux,“Géographiedel’éliteartistiquebruxelloiseàlafindu19esiècle,”LesCahiersdelaFonderie,vol.43(2010):31‐37.15Ofcourse,thematerialcollectedfromcatalogsisnotsufficientforunderstandingthewholeofLesXX’snetworks–thesewereamélangeofpersonalandprofessionalcircles,bothoftheartists,theirpatrons,andthatoftheprofessionalsoftheartworld(critics, dealers). Still, this information offers a first step toward situation theprivilegedforeigntiesdevelopedbyLesXX.
On the occasion of their annual exhibitions, the“vingtistes”invitedmanyforeignartiststoshowintheirsalons.Theywerechoseninfunctionoftheiraestheticaffinitiesorthenoveltyoftheirwork,butnotallowedtoshowasmanyworksas theactualmembers.AgreatnumberoftheguestartistswereFrench, and most of these were Parisian, as isillustrated inmap1.This translates the realityof19th century art world, which centered on Parislong before London, New York and otherinternational cities which would later appear onthe map of 20th century avant‐gardes. Manyinvited artists participated in the Les XX’sactivities on multiple occasions: Henri deToulouse‐Lautrec, Georges Seurat, and AlfredBesnard were present at four salons, CamillePissarro, PhilipWilson Steer (Great Britain), andJames Abbott McNeill Whistler (United States)showedworkthreetimes,asdidotherartistsfromTheNetherlands,Germany,Italy,andScandinavia.Artists from countries neighboring Belgiumwerethebestrepresented.
WithinBelgium,itisinterestingtonotewheretheartists from beyond Brussels lived. The bestknownamongtheseisundoubtedlyJamesEnsor,amember of Les XX who lived in Ostend andparticipated in every salon the group held. Thecoastwaswell represented through the townsofOstendandKnokke(nottomentionScheveningenandTheHague,ontheDutchcoastfurthernorth),aswellastheFlemishcitiesofAntwerpandGhent.ThepresenceofKnokkeisareminderthatthecitywasaprizeddestination forBelgianartists. Staysonthecoastoftenplayedanimportantroleinthedevelopment of social and artistic networks, andwere an activity that took place outside of thecapital.Agroupofartistsevenimaginedcreatingaresidence in Knokke through the Société
CoopérativeArtistique, confiding itsdesign to thearchitect Paul Hankar before ultimatelyabandoningtheproject.16
Source: Exhibition catalogs of Les XX (1884-1893). Cartography:MICM‐arc,2013.
Today, it is interesting to note a continuedpresence of artists in the area of Knokke andOstend, thanks to the existence of numerous artgalleries.17Beyondthecoast,theBelgianArdenneswere also a residence of choice among artists,attracted to the natural beauty of the region’ssteep valleys.18 Fernand Khnopff, for example,declaredasecondaddressinthevillageofFosset,with other artists listing second homes evenfartherafield(map2).
16BrunoGirveau,“Lerevedeçudelacitedesartistes,”1900,editedbyPhilippeThiebaut.82‐85.Paris:ReuniondesMuseesNationaux,2000.17 In 2007, the province of West Flanders contained some 22% of Belgium’s artgalleries, a shareequal to thatofBrussels.Mostof thesewere centered inKnokkeandOstend.Debroux,Ph.D.Dissertation,304.18StéphanieQueriat,“L’artialisation,unepistepourl’identificationdepaysagespatrimoniauxenWallonie,”Territoire(s)wallon(s),no1(2007):31‐41.
Manyamongthebestknownandwealthierartistsoften traveled and indicated a second address towhichcorrespondenceshouldbesent–oftenquitefar from Brussels. Apart from the heiress AnnaBoch, who had the occasion to travel regularly,ThéoVanRysselbergheandFrantzCharlet joinedDario de Regoyos in traveling to Tangier. JanTooropmentionsanaddressinJakarta,Indonesia,wherehewasborn,aswellashishomeaddresses,firstinBrusselsandlaterinTheHague.
In Brussels, the catalogues show some 130different addresses, corresponding to about 40different artists (map 3). Over the course of theperiod in question, address changes werefrequent,translatingtoareorientationofthecity’sartisticgeographytowhichwewillreturnbelow.
The geographic distribution of the vingtistes andtheir guests inBrusselsmustbe compared to thedistribution of artists in general if we hope todistinguishanyparticularoriginalityorconformityon theirpart. Inmap3, alongwith theaddressescollected from the salon catalogs from 1884 to1893,wehaveaddedaddressesfoundinthelocaldirectories (the Annuaires du Commerce et de
l’Industrie, published byMertens&Rosez), foundunder the headings “Peintres‐artistes” and“Sculpteurs”fortheyears1881and1901.Thedatafrom thedirectoriespredate andpostdate that ofthevingtistesandoffer amoregeneralpictureofthe distribution of artists in Brussels in the lastdecades of the 19th century, thanks to both thegreaternumberandbroadersocialrangeofartistslisted.
The resulting maps suggest several interestingobservations.Generally speaking, thedistributionofLesXXfollowedtrendsobservedamongartistsin general. Artists preferred to live in the closesuburbs rather than the city center, which wasmore expensive, and this in spite of the center’ssocialandculturalimportance.Artistsalsoshoweda marked preference for the eastern side of theSenneRiverValley–includingwhentheychosetolive in the city center.This reflects amore globaltrendamongBrussels’petitebourgeoisie,andisavisible traceofBrussels’ artistsgradual accessiontoanewsocialcategoryoverthecourseofthe19thcentury.19
The artistmembers of LesXX, an elite circle thatbrought together innovative artists (certain ofwhichcamefromprivilegedbackgrounds)andanenlightened bourgeoisie, often preferred thesoutheasternsuburbsofIxellesandSaint‐Gillestoa greater degree than population of Brussels’artists as a whole. These areas, which weredeveloped some twenty years later than thenortheastern suburbs of Saint‐Josse‐ten‐Noodeand Schaerbeek (which counted the highestconcentration of artists during the period), werehome toa liberalbourgeoisie thatwas interestedin artistic innovation. Members of this classconstructedgrandhôtels demaîtres, andbecameenthusiastic supporters of Art Nouveau and theavant‐garde works they saw in neighboringEuropeancapitals.GiventhattheartistsofLesXXwere often issued from the same circles andclasses,sharedtheirtastes,andattendedthesameartisticandintellectualevents, it isnotsurprising
to see that they lived in close proximity to theirclientele,eveniftheirmeansgenerallyledthemtoopt formoremodest dwellings (map4 comparestheaddressesofthesubscribersandartistsofLesXXin1889).
This preference for the southeastern suburbs,whencomparedtothegroupofartistsasawhole,isneverthelessalsopartofageneraltrendtowardanewcenterofartisticactivityandarelativeshiftin the artistic geography of the city that wouldcreate new concentrations in the last quarter ofthe 19th century. It is also interesting to note theindividualmovementsof certain artistsof LesXXoverthecourseofthedecadeinquestion(map5).Amongthesixartiststohavelistedthreedifferentaddresses over the course of ten years, often atquite close intervals, five seem to have moved
fromnorthtosouthandtowardthestillsemi‐ruraledgesofthecitylimits,suchastheruedel’Abbaye,where Van Rysselberghe moved –an area weaddressingreaterdetailbelow.
The frequent address changesnoted inour studystand as a reminder that maps never representmore thana fleetingandparticular instantwhichcouldshiftatanymoment.Thisisthereasonthatitseemednecessarytoenvisagethemovementsofindividualartistswithinlarger,collectivecontextswhich allow us to grasp the spatial logic ofparticular groups before focusing upon thedistinguishingdetailsofindividualtrajectories.
Similarly,itispossibletostudysmallercentersofartistic activity within the larger context of the
BrogniezandDebroux–LesXX intheCity
45 ARTL@SBULLETIN,Vol.2Issue2(Fall2013)DoMapsLie?
city’s development and its cultural poles.Wewillnowfocusourattentionononesuchgroup.
An “Artists’ Neighborhood”Around theHouseofAnnaBoch:AMicrogeographicApproach
We have alreadymentioned that Anna Bochwasnot the sole woman to have participated theactivitiesofLesXX,butshewastheonlywomantobe an official member, and her presence at theheartofthecirclewasenduringanddecisivefromthebeginning.Born toaprivilegedmilieu, cousinto OctaveMaus, the organizer of Les XX’s salons,Boch regularly exhibited herworkwith both LesXX, and later, La Libre Esthétique. As a collectorand committed patron of the arts, she acquiredworks at the circles’ exhibitions includingGauguin’sLePouldu in1889,VanGogh’sLaVignerouge in 1890, and Seurat’sLa Seine à laGrande
Jatte in1892.Thesewereartistswhosepaintingscausedintenseaestheticdebatesandthepurchaseof their work can be interpreted as a veritableaestheticstatement.
AnnaBochwas thestudentof IsidoreVerheyden,another member of Les XX, who also owned ahouseontheruedel’Abbaye.
Figure1Isidore Verheyden,PortraitdeMademoiselleAnnaBoch, 1884. Oil on canvas, 95 x71cm, Musées royaux des Beaux‐Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles. Copyrights reservedMuséesroyauxdesBeaux‐ArtsdeBelgique.
VerheydenpaintedtwoportraitsofAnna.Thefactthatshewascarefultokeepanddisplaythem,thefirstinherbedroom,thesecondinthefronthallofherhome,istestimonytothepersonalandartisticaffinitiesbetweenteacherandstudent.Shewouldlater distance herself from her former teacher,sidingwith ThéoVanRysselberghe in the debateover Neo‐Impressionism that divided Les XX in1888and1889.VanRysselberghelivedintheruedel’AbbayebeforeAnnaBoch’sarrival,inahousebuiltbyhisarchitectbrother,Octave.
In 1903, Anna Boch set up house at number 26,rue de l’Abbaye, a house which has since beendestroyed.Itwasdesignedin1901bythearchitectPaulHermanuswhomBochaskedtointegratethedecorative elementsdesignedbyVictorHorta forher former home situated on the avenue de laToisond’or.
The rue de l’Abbaye could have been consideredan “artists’ street” –indeed, this was how AnnaBochsawit:
My future house continues to develop onpaper[...]Ithinkitwillbeanicelittlehome20for my old age? It’s a street where artists,
20InEnglishintheoriginal.
musicians, and painters live – we ought tohavefuntogetherafewmoretimes.21
Apart fromVerheydenandVanRysselberghe, theruedel’AbbayeattractedConstantinMeunier,alsoa member of Les XX. Anna Boch, one of his firstadmirers,wouldacquiretwoofhissculptures.Hisformer house and atelier is now a museumdedicated to his work. On the same side of thestreet one notes the presence of another artistfrom Boch’s collection, Henri Cassiers, as well asthe pianist Théo Ysaÿe, brother of the celebratedviolinistEugèneYsaÿeandoneofthepillarsofLesXX’s concerts. Both Ysaÿe brothers were faithfulparticipants in the “musical Mondays” that madeBoch’shouseacenterofculturalandsociallife.
The 1903 directory shows that the Rue del’Abbayehoused anothermusician,Duart, aswellasaframer(figure4).Thestreetsintheimmediatevicinitywerealsohometopaintersandsculptorsthat, althoughnotmembersof LesXX, completedBoch’sartisticenvironment(map6).
Map6Theartisticpopulationintheareaaroundtheruedel’AbbayeandAnnaBoch’shouse(*)in1901.Source: Exhibition catalogs of Les XX (1884‐1893); Mertens and Rosez almanacs(1881&1901).Basemaps:ICM,1893;ICM,1930(Copyright:IGEAT)
InsideAnnaBoch’sHouse
The arrangement of Boch’s house, both itsarchitectureanditsdecoration,revealshowsocialstanding,artisticidentity,andaestheticstancecanbecombinedandtranslatedinspatialterms.22
22SeealsoPhilippeJunod,"L’ateliercommeautoportrait,”Kunstlerbilder.Imagesdel’artiste,editedbyPascalGriener,PeterJ.Schneeman.83‐97,PeterLang,1998;JeanGribenski, Véronique Meyer, Solange Vernois, eds., La Maison de l’artiste :construction d'un espace de représentations entre réalité et imaginaire, XVIIe‐XXesiècles(Rennes,PressesUniversitairesdeRennes,2007).
The fronthall,hungwithnotableworks fromhercollection,wasorganizedaroundagrandstaircaseornamented by a slender metal column toppedwitha light (designedbyHorta). It isknown thatAnna Boch commissioned a mural painting byMaurice Denis to decorate the front hall and thelanding of the staircase, but this projectunfortunatelynevercametofruition.
Figure5Rue de l’Abbaye (demolished), Plan of the ground floor of Anna Boch’s mansion,arch. Paul Hermanus, 1901. On the right, the large salonwhere the artist used toreceiveherguestsforher‘MusicalMondays.’Source:Archivescommunalesd’Ixelles,ACI/Urb.312‐282(1901)
Boch also had a studio and a large music roomwheresheorganizednumerousconcertsthatwerewell attended by Brussels’ artistic elite.Participants recalled that on certain crowdedevenings,guestsoftenhadtositonthestairs.Themusic roomwas the heart of the house and hadbeendesignedtocontainanorganofconsiderabledimension. It was here that some of the mostbeautiful works from Boch’s collection hung,includingGauguin’sLePouldu.
AnnaBoch’s“musicalMondays”werewellknownand she often played in themherself (she playedthe piano, the organ, and the violin) beforeshowing her atelier to her guests. Her salonsservedasasortofantechambertotheexpositionsof Les XX and La Libre Esthétique, as well as a
*
BrogniezandDebroux–LesXXintheCity
48 DoMapsLie?Artl@sBulletin,Vol.2Issue2(Fall2013)
rehearsal space (Maus rehearsed a chorus ofyoung girls therewith the intention of creating aChorale des XX).23 The “salon de musique” alsoopened upon the garden, a space which was nolessimportanttotheartist.
AnnaBoch’shousewasbuiltonasubstantialplotoflandwhichaffordedtheartistalargegardenofwhich she was particularly fond. Her home wassituated in a neighborhood with a particularatmospherethatwaslinkedtoitssiteontheedgeof thespreadingcity.Plans fromtheperiodshowthatwhenAnnaBochmovedintoherhomeontherue de l’Abbaye, there remained a number ofunbuilt parcels on her street and throughout thearea (see the background ofmap 6, showing thearea ten years before Anna Boch arrived). Large
villas adjoined lengths of street built intownhouses, and the directories of the 1890smention a number of “country houses” that stillstood in the area –houses one passed on thepopularstrollswhenleavingthegrandavenuestogo to theBois de la Cambre. Passers‐by also sawAnna Boch’s house, with her first name on thepediment,lendingitasuburbanappearance.
Who among Brussels’ promeneurs is notfamiliar with the exterior of the grandpavilionofgraybrickandwhitestone?Vinesand roses dispute its walls and wisteriaentwines itself upon the balconies. A bed ofhydrangea hides the basements. It presentsitself, somewhataskew,on thecornerof thechausséedeVleurgatandtheruedel’Abbaye,thecornerofavastgardenthatsurroundsitwith lawns and parterres. An Italian poplarattractsone’sattention.Outofrespectforthehandsome tree and its branches,which, onemightsay,servesasitsemblem,theentrancesideof the imposinghome curves inward toenclosethetreebetweenitswings,whichareconnectedbyaglassandmetalawning...24
Figure7Anna Boch, Chit‐chat [La causette], 1896. Oil on canvas, 89 x 72cm, KeramiekMuseum, Mettlach. Copyrights reserved Keramikmuseum Mettlach, CollectionsVilleroy&BochAGMettlach.
This suburban environment, on the edge of theexpandingcity, ischaracteristicofthespacesthatattractedartistsduringthesecondhalfofthe19thcentury, first in the suburbs northeast of thepentagonaltraceoftheformercitywalls,andlaterto the southeast and east.HenryVandeVelde inUccle,AugusteOleffe inAuderghemandConstantMontald inWoluwé‐Saint‐Lambertareamong thefamous artistswho found refuge on the outskirtsof Brussels and whose houses attracted otherartiststothezonesbeyondthecapital’scenter.
Midwaybetweenthecityandthecountry,inareasstill spared from the housing pressure thatmadethepriceofrealestateclimb,theseneighborhoodswere an extension of the bourgeois fabric of thecity that allowed artists to find the contradictoryconditions they sought – proximity to the citycenterwithoutpayingtheprice,butsituatedinthenatural environments they so assiduouslyfrequented.
Through the representations they gave of theirdailyenvironment,therealsospread,amongtheirbourgeois clientele, a taste for nature,promenades, and the bucolic neighborhoodswhere the artists themselves had moved. Thecohabitation of creators and their bourgeoisclienteleinthecitysuburbsisaresultofmultipleinterests which provided both parties with theadvantages they sought (economic accessibility,the affirmation of an elite social status, mutualfrequentation, the possibility of art patronage).The valorization of nature through publicdeclarations and the creation of associations25where artists and the bourgeoisie also crossedpaths, was an implicit translation of theintellectuals’ stance to preserve the city’sremainingperiurbannaturalspaces,threatenedbymodernization and the city’s development. Thecanvasespaintedby the “paintersof theForêtdeSoignes”26 serve as sounding boards of thisphenomenon,expressingthrougharttheneedforthe forest’s preservation. By taking part in the 25AsinthecasewiththeAmisdelaForêtdeSoignes,anassociationcreatedin1909bytheoutdoorpainterRenéStevens.26EmmanuelVandePutte,LespeintresdelaForêtdeSoignes(Bruxelles:Racine,2009).
1904 foundation of the circle Vie et Lumière, agroup of artists from the Libre Esthétique thatwished to create a particular development ofoutdoor painting, Anna Boch herself took part inthismovement,herinspirationoftencomingfromhergardenandhersurroundings.
ProvisoryConclusion
The initial results of our research trace theoutlinesofthespaceinhabitedbyLesXX,includingthehomesofitsmembersandtheguestartistsofitssalons.Althoughthemajorityofthoseaffiliatedwith the circle came from Brussels, one of itsfounding ambitions, openness toward theinternational scene, is quite perceptible. To theartists from other Belgian cities can be addedartists from other European countries (with theexception of the American Whistler), whoseorigins tend to be concentrated in neighboringcountries, and primarily, Paris. This reflects notonlythestateofartists’mobilityduringtheperiod,but also the extreme importance the Frenchcapital played in the art world. Although certainartists hoped to remove themselves from thisinfluence and establish Brussels as a culturalcapital,thisdidnotmeanabandoningcontactwiththe Parisian avant‐garde, which was itselfinterestedbytheinnovationthatwashappeninginBrussels.
Thespacestudiedhereisalsoaspaceofsociabilityinwhichartistscrossedpathswithandmettheartcollectors that were the circle’s patrons. One ofthem,AnnaBoch,wasboth artist and collector, acosmopolitan woman, and musician, a figurearound which the milieu of Les XX tended togravitate –all reasons for which it seemedpertinent to study her case. Residing first at theavenuede laToisond’or,where shewas close tomanyofLesXX’ssubscribers,shelatermovedtoasurburban house in the rue de l’Abbaye. Duringthe musical salons organized by Boch, oftenpreludes toofficial eventsorganizedby the circletowhichnumerouspeoplewereinvited,theruedel’Abbayebecame a veritable center of activity for
BrogniezandDebroux–LesXXintheCity
50 DoMapsLie?Artl@sBulletin,Vol.2Issue2(Fall2013)
the artists of the group. Because many of themlived in thesamestreetorneighborhood,anareawhich was still only partially urbanized, at theheart of which social networks existed (beyondthe “musicalMondays,” as the relationshipsAnnaBochsharedwithmanyofherneighbors),itseemspossible to qualify the zone as an artists’neighborhood.
The presence of a framer in the neighborhood in1901seemstoforetelltheactivitythatwastakingplace in the localstudios–italsocalls foramorein‐depth study of other dimensions of artisticcreationanditsreception.Thiswouldallowustocompare the geography of artists (on small andlarge scale) with that of their protectors, theircriticsanddealers,andotheractorslinkedtotheirprofession,aswellasthespacesoftheirexhibitionand education. With this information in hand, itwouldbepossibletoreflectupontheexistencetoartistic neighborhoods in which all of thesedimensions are taken into account, and toestablish, if needed, a typology capable ofdistinguishing between various sorts ofneighborhoods, such as those that werepredominantlyresidential,aswasvisibly thecasewiththeareaaroundtheruedel’Abbaye.
It would also be useful to enlarge this study’sperspectivesbyworkingonotherartistswhotookpart in the activities of Les XX and La LibreEsthétique, as has already been done for womenartists. Musicians, writers, critics, and actors allbrought life to these circles, as did polyvalentfigures of the art scene such as Edmond Picard,OctaveMaus,andCamilleLemonnier.Thepathsoftheirresidentialtrajectoriesweretracedlargelyinthebourgeoissoutheasternsuburbsandattractedartists,at times ingreatnumber,whentheywerewelcomed to artistic events. Cécile Vanderpelenhasalreadydescribedthisphenomenoninthecaseof Edmond Picard.27 The house of Lemonnier onthe chaussée de Vleurgat was famous for having
housed the association Jeune Belgique at thebeginningofthe1880s:
AtthebottomofthechausséedeVleurgat,inBrussels, there was a little old bourgeoishouse, the garden of which, composed of around lawn, looked out through a greenlattice upon the long view of the old Ixellesponds. [...] Who would have imagined thatthis little house that resembled so manyotherswouldplay sucha serious role in thehistory of literature inBelgium and abroad?Withthetenorfifteenstepsthatleduptomy“office” [...]; with, on the other side, themovementof thoseonaSundaystrolldownthecountryroadstowardthehillsoftheBoisde la Cambre, it would take a place amongother well‐known houses. It was still in thesuburbs, on the edge of the old faubourg ofIxelles.28
Oneotheraspectthatwillneedtobedevelopedinfuturestudiesconcernstheparticipationofforeignartists in Les XX’s activities –a guarantee of acertainamountoftheaestheticexchangeandopenmindedness desired by the circle’s founders. Itsexistence, as well as that of La Libre Esthétique,are often cited as factors of Brussels’ artisticattractivenessat the turnof the20th century.Butdid these two circles truly serve as site ofintegration for foreign artists? What were theexisting traditions inwelcoming foreignartists tothecity?Suchaninquirymightprofitablycontinuethe work done by Saskia De Bodt on the Dutchcolony in the city between 1850 and 1890,29 orthatofKatiaVandenborreonPolishintellectualsinBrusselsattheturnofthe20thcentury.30
Other players from abroad also deserve ourattention for the key roles they played in the artworld’srecognitionoffindesiècleBrussels.Theseartistic intermediaries – gallery owners anddealers, critics, publishers –developed close tieswith Paris and allowed the Brussels art scene todevelop its own identity and affirm itself as asmaller,individualculturalcapital.
Thestudyof thespatialpracticesof these foreignactors, their insertion in local networks, theirinvestment in institutions, their participation inlocal spatial dynamics, and the transposition offoreign practices to the Belgian capital wouldserve not only to refine the notion of the artisticneighborhood, but also redefine questions ofmobility on both a local and European scale –ultimatelyallowing forabetterunderstandingofthe mechanisms that constitute the culturalidentity of a city, constructed by takingneighboringmajorcapitalsasmodelsandmirrorsofitsowndevelopment.
