Belgian Art on Paper in a European Perspective 1918-1950

A new room dedicated to art on paper. In a dynamic of rotating presentations of artworks, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium continue to add newly arranged rooms to their parcours.

From 21st of May, the Spilliaert room will showcase the artwork of Léon Spilliaert (Ostend 1881 - Brussels 1946), produced almost exclusively on paper, has a prominent place in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. As a mark of recognition, this room which is dedicated to modern works on paper, is named after him. His work will be in dialogue with that of other artists in the collections including 2 pieces on paper by Ernest Engel-Pak Rozier

BePAPER is a four-year research project. It is to provide the first overview of the field of Belgian avant-garde works on paper within an international context between 1918 and 1950: that is up and until the dawn of CoBrA and the rise of the neo-avant-gardes. One of the project’s main aims is to contribute to a better definition of the collection of modern works on paper of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB).

BePAPER is a collaboration between the RMFAB, KU Leuven and its MDRN research lab, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles. It is funded by BRAIN-be 2.0.

Introduction
The project’s aim is to study and disclose artworks on paper, amongst which there are drawings, watercolors, collages, and assemblages. The RMFAB collection houses about a thousand individual sheets of paper and sketchbooks created by Belgian avant-garde artists from the time period.

These artists include the futurist Jules Schmalzigaug, expressionists Frits van den Berghe, Joseph Cantré, Gustave De Smet and Constant Permeke, the constructivists Jozef Peeters, Karel Maes, Felix De Boeck, Victor Servranckx, Edmond van Dooren and Pierre-Louis Flouquet, the surrealists Paul Delvaux, René Magritte, and E.L.T. Mesens as well as the dadaist Paul Joostens. We will also have a closer look at the so-called Jeune Peinture Belge at the end of the historical avant-garde.

In addition to the collection of artworks, the research will be based on holdings in the Archives of Contemporary Art in Belgium (ACAB), Archives of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (ARMFAB) and the museum library.

Site: https://bepaper.be/