14/18 – Rupture or Continuity

The impact of the Great War and its aftermath on Belgian artistic life

World War I had a major effect on Belgian visual arts. German occupation, the horror at the battlefield and the experience of exile led to multiple narratives and artistic expressions by Belgian artists during and after the war. Belgian interbellum art is extremely vibrant and diverse. 14/18 – Rupture or Continuity takes a look at Belgian artistic life in the years around the First World War and how it was affected by this event. The Great War was a catalyst of artistic oppositions, leading on the one hand to a Belgian avant-garde that explored new forms and styles, while continuing to uphold a more traditional and established art on the other. Whereas the war experience consolidated an already present style for some artists, for others it constituted a revolution leading to new artistic adventures. The collection of essays in the present book highlights these contrasting facets of Belgian art in its rich historical context during the early 20th century.

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Contributors: Werner Adriaenssens (Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels), Erik Buelinckx (Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Brussels), Sophie de Schaepdrijver (Pennsylvania State University), Ole W. Fischer (University of Utah, Salt Lake City), Eva Francioli (Università degli Studi di Firenze), Laura Kollwelter (Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels), Christina Kott (Université Panthéon-Assas Paris 2), Françoise Lucbert (Université Laval, Québec), Peter Pauwels (independent art historian, Antwerp), Hubert Roland (F.R.S. – FNRS / Université Catholique de Louvain), Inga Rossi-Schrimpf (Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels), Sergio Servellón (FeliXart Museum, Drogenbos), Sandrine Smets (Royal Museum of Armed Forces and Military History, Brussels), Hans Vandevoorde (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Caterina Verdickt (Universiteit Antwerpen)

Préface
Michel Draguet

Before and After? Rupture or Continuity? Belgian Art around the First World War. An Introduction
Inga Rossi-Schrimpf

Shaping the Experience of Military Occupation: Ten Images
Sophie De Schaepdrijver

14/18 Rupture or Continuity? Belgian Art Around World War I in the Collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts
Inga Rossi-Schrimpf & Laura Kollwelter

Illustrations

ARTISTS AT WAR AND ABROAD – ON THE FRONT AND IN EXILE

L’art en guerre ! L’État belge, mécène des artistes combattants :politique bienveillante ou nécessité impérieuse ?
Sandrine Smets

‘My heart is sore about brave Belgium’ – Artistic Exodus: Belgian Refugee Artists in Great Britain during the Great War
Caterina Verdickt

Jacob and Louise De Graaff – Patrons of Modern Belgian Artists in Exile
Laura Kollwelter

OCCUPATION – INFLUENCES ON THE ART MARKET AND THE INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGES

Belgian Art During the First World War: Exhibitions and Salons in Brussels
Werner Adriaenssens

« Rencontres interculturelles » et occupation : un nouvel élan pour les transferts culturels belgo-allemands après 1918
Christina Kott et Hubert Roland

Precursors or Followers? The German Art Scene and the Role and Image of Belgian Art Around World War I
Inga Rossi-Schrimpf

POLITICIZED ART AROUND WWI

When Flemish Nationalism, Progressivism, and Avant-Gardism Came Together: 1917-1922
Sergio Servellón

Albert Daenens (1883-1952): Belgian Artist From Brussels, Flemish Activist and French Publicist, International Anarchist and Antimilitarist Before, During and After World War I
Erik Buelinckx

 

BELGIAN ART AND THE INTERNATIONAL AVANT-GARDE OF THE 1920’S-NETWORKS

Modernist Generations in Belgium: United and Divided by Community Art
Hans Vandevoorde

The Originality of the 7 Arts’ Constructivism: The Connections to The Belgian Pre-War Art Scene
Eva Francioli

Réseaux d’artistes avant et après la guerre : le cas exemplaire de la Section d’or
Françoise Lucbert

 

BELGIAN ART AND THE INTERNATIONAL AVANT-GARDES OF THE 1920’S – CASE STUDIES

From Avant-garde to Arrière-garde? – Henry van de Velde’s Architectural Oeuvre Before and After World War I
Ole W. Fischer

‘Votre lettre m’a bien intéressée’: Marthe “Tour” Donas and the Belgian Art Scene Around 1920
Peter J.H. Pauwels

Illustrations
Abstracts
About the Authors
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
List of works shown in the exhibition 14-18. Rupture or Continuity - Belgian Art around World War I
Colophon

Format: Edited volume - paperback

Size: 230 × 170 × 25 mm

384 pages

32 pp. with colour images

ISBN: 9789462701366

Publication: October 04, 2018

Languages: English | French

Stock item number: 122864

Hans Vandevoorde (1960) doceert Nederlandse literatuur aan de Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Hij werkt aan een biografie van August Vermeylen en publiceert over literatuur en cultuur van de negentiende eeuw tot vandaag.
Inga Rossi-Schrimpf is the curator of modern works on paper (19th–21st century) at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and Coordinating Curator of the Fin-de-Siècle Museum, Brussels, Belgium.
Laura Kollwelter is a scientific researcher at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.

Ce livre collectif et bilingue anglais-français s'attache à une période encore trop négligée en histoire de l'art belge, les années 1910-1925. Fruit d'un projet de deux ans mené par les Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique dans le cadre des commémorations du Centenaire de la première guerre mondiale concernant l'impact du conflit sur l'évolution de l'art belge, le résultat est impressionnant par la nouveauté de l'approche et la cohérence de l'ensemble. Les contributions très pointues et celles plus générales s'équilibrent parfaitement pour tenter de répondre à la question de départ et permettre une réponse nuancée. [...] Au total, cet ouvrage qui ne se veut pas exhaustif et ne peut pas l'être tant le sujet est vaste a l'immense mérite d'ouvrir de nouvelles pistes de recherche sur les transferts culturels, les mécènes, la politisation de l'art en guerre et les relations entre art national et mouvements internationaux. Espérons que cela puisse stimuler la recherche sur cette période fascinante.
Laurence van Ypersele, Revue du Nord, tome 100 - no 427 octobre-décembre 2018