Art & History Museum
@art_and_history_museum
Brussels, Brussels Regionhttps://www.artandhistory.museum MuseumsOverview
About Art & History Museum
In the heart of Brussels, close to the European Quarter, lies the Parc du Cinquantenaire, or Jubelpark. This park, created in its current form around 1880, was originally intended for trade fairs and international expositions. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it served as a showcase of Belgium’s wealth and ingenuity. The buildings and exhibition halls that were part of this vision still stand today and house a number of museums, including the Art & History Museum – Belgium’s largest and most diverse museum.
Although the collections of the Art & History Museum rival those of the Louvre or the British Museum, it remains, for many, a hidden gem. Even the buildings themselves are worth a visit: the grandeur of the 19th-century architecture – from the imposing facades to the great halls and hidden galleries – is sure to take your breath away.
The collections are everything a lover of art and history could wish for. The museum takes you on a journey through time and around the world, beginning with archaeological discoveries from the birth of mankind, through ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the Middle Ages, and the 16th to 18th centuries, and culminating in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements of the early 20th century. In addition to the vast Belgian and European collections, the museum also houses treasures from long-lost non-European civilizations in Asia and the Americas. Visitors can easily spend an entire day surrounded by some of the oldest and most beautiful objects created by humanity.
Several masterpieces stand out: the statuette that inspired Hergé’s Tintin and the Broken Ear, for example, and an original Easter Island statue – donated to Belgium by the Chilean government and brought here aboard the famous Mercator. The museum is also home to world-renowned collections of Belgian tapestries, stained-glass windows, and Mosan art, alongside Belgian royal carriages and precision instruments.
Although the collections of the Art & History Museum rival those of the Louvre or the British Museum, it remains, for many, a hidden gem. Even the buildings themselves are worth a visit: the grandeur of the 19th-century architecture – from the imposing facades to the great halls and hidden galleries – is sure to take your breath away.
The collections are everything a lover of art and history could wish for. The museum takes you on a journey through time and around the world, beginning with archaeological discoveries from the birth of mankind, through ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the Middle Ages, and the 16th to 18th centuries, and culminating in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements of the early 20th century. In addition to the vast Belgian and European collections, the museum also houses treasures from long-lost non-European civilizations in Asia and the Americas. Visitors can easily spend an entire day surrounded by some of the oldest and most beautiful objects created by humanity.
Several masterpieces stand out: the statuette that inspired Hergé’s Tintin and the Broken Ear, for example, and an original Easter Island statue – donated to Belgium by the Chilean government and brought here aboard the famous Mercator. The museum is also home to world-renowned collections of Belgian tapestries, stained-glass windows, and Mosan art, alongside Belgian royal carriages and precision instruments.