For a small country, Belgium possesses an astonishingly rich history of art. From the first masters of oil painting in the late Middle Ages to the dreamlike visions of twentieth-century Surrealism, Flemish and Walloon artists have again and again renewed European painting. Anyone visiting the museums of Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent crosses five centuries of creative genius.
The Flemish Primitives
The story begins in the fifteenth century with the Flemish Primitives, who brought the oil technique to unprecedented perfection. Around 1432 Jan van Eyck painted the Ghent Altarpiece, the monumental work in Saint Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, one of the most stolen and most admired works of art in the world. His precision in light, texture and detail was revolutionary.
Rogier van der Weyden moved viewers with the emotional power of his religious scenes, while Hans Memling in Bruges painted serene, still portraits and altarpieces. At the end of this tradition stands Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who brought peasant life, proverbs and winter landscapes to canvas with a human warmth that still surprises today.
Rubens and the Flemish Baroque
In the seventeenth century Antwerp became the centre of the European Baroque, thanks to Peter Paul Rubens. His workshop produced large, dynamic compositions full of movement, colour and drama. The Rubens House in Antwerp, his home and studio, shows how this painter-diplomat lived and worked. Around him a whole school flourished: Anthony van Dyck, the celebrated portraitist, and Jacob Jordaens.
Ensor, Magritte and Surrealism
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought a new wave of originality. In Ostend, James Ensor painted his grotesque masks and skeletons in vivid colours, a forerunner of Expressionism. His famous canvas Christ's Entry into Brussels shocked the public.
But no Belgian artist is as globally recognisable as René Magritte, master of Surrealism. His bowler hats, apples, pipes and cloudy skies defy logic and play with the relationship between image and reality. The Magritte Museum in Brussels, opened in 2009, holds the largest collection of his work in the world. His contemporary Paul Delvaux, with his dreamy, melancholic scenes, added a distinctive accent to Belgian Surrealism.
Art Nouveau and Victor Horta
Art was not confined to the canvas. Around 1900 the architect Victor Horta gave shape to Art Nouveau in Brussels, with graceful iron structures, whiplash lines and light-filled interiors. Four of his townhouses — including the Horta House, now a museum — have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000. A walk through the Brussels districts reveals façades in this elegant style everywhere.
The great museums
To discover all this richness, there are four museums you should not miss.
- The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, a survey from the old masters to modern art, including the Magritte Museum
- The Groeninge Museum in Bruges, a compact but exceptional collection of Flemish Primitives
- The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), reopened in 2022 after a thorough renovation, with a top collection from Ensor to Rubens
- The Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK), strong in both old and modern masters
Practical tips
Belgian cities lie close together and are superbly connected by train, which makes an art route across several cities easy.
- Book online for the Magritte Museum and the KMSKA, especially at weekends
- Combine Ghent and Bruges in one day by train for the Primitives
- Many museums close on Mondays; check opening hours in advance
- Consider a city pass if you visit several museums in the same city
From the golden glow of Van Eyck to the bowler hats of Magritte, Belgian art is a succession of surprises. Take your time, let each museum settle, and you will understand why this small country holds so large a place in the history of European painting.