Brussels

Europe at the end of the century was a time of great upheaval and tension, not least in the field of culture and art, where a great many battles were being fought on the vanguard of modernity. Visionary artists and art movements were struggling to usher in the twentieth century. Art Nouveau, Symbolism, Neo-lmpressionism and Decadent Art were all an assault on traditional culture and conformity. Conventions were being exploded in all fields -- painting, architecture, sculpture and music, and the Belgium capital of Brussels rapidly emerged as the centre of these innovations. As the nineteenth century faded into darkness, Brussels became the nexus of intellectual debate and artistic practice. Among the luminaries gathering there were the ''''Painters of the Imagination'''' Fernand Khnopff, James Ensor, Henry de Groux and Felicien Rops, writer such as Maurice Maeterlinck, Emile Verhaeren and Georges Rodenbach who fuelled the creative and intellectual spirit of the city. The important fin-de-siecle art group ''''Les Vingt'''' was founded in 1884 by Thio van Rysellberghe. They organised concerts and debated the burning aesthetic issues of the day. This volume provides a detailed and fully illustrated history of this cultural milieu, the art, and the magnificent city that inspired it.