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.
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), Caterine Verdickt (Universiteit Antwerpen)