Museum of Ixelles
The Museum of Ixelles, also called the Museum of Fine Arts of Ixelles, is a municipal art museum in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on Belgian art from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The museum is located at 71, rue Jean Van Volsem/Jean Van Volsemstraat in Ixelles. It is served by the bus stops Musée d'Ixelles/Museum van Elsene and Malibran.
History
The Museum of Ixelles was founded in 1892 following a significant donation of artworks by the painter and collector. In return, the commune of Ixelles pledged to house and publicly display the collection. A former slaughterhouse was repurposed as a municipal museum, and after several adaptations, it officially opened on 31 May 1892. The new institution quickly attracted public interest, prompting the commune to create a budget for art acquisitions. The collection soon expanded through further donations from patrons such as,, Max Janlet, and Octave Maus, whose contribution included more than 200 impressionist, neo-impressionist, and symbolist works.Around 1900, the Village Hall designed by architect Delune was added to the main building, later expanded and refurbished in the 1950s. Under director Jean Coquelet from 1958, the museum gained a reputation for ambitious exhibitions and retrospectives while undergoing modernisation between 1969 and 1973, which added a new wing, exhibition halls, and storage, transforming the former courtyard into a garden. Nicole d’Huart, director from 1987, continued this trajectory, adding the adjacent Village Hall in 1994 to expand the museum by 1,000 square metres.
Since 2007, Claire Leblanc has overseen further growth, presenting major exhibitions and expanding the collection to over 13,000 works spanning realism, impressionism, symbolism, fauvism, cubism, surrealism, and abstraction, including masterpieces by Magritte, Delvaux, Picasso, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Closed in 2018 for renovation and expansion, incorporating a building acquired in 2009, the museum is scheduled to reopen in 2025.
Curators
The curators of the museum have been:- 1902–1926: Emile Meunier
- 1929–1956: Jean-Joseph Hoslet
- 1957–1987: Jean Cockerel
- 1987–2007: Nicole d'Huart
- 2007–present: Claire Leblanc
Collection
The museum houses a permanent collection of over 10,000 works spanning the 16th to the 21st centuries, with a particular focus on Belgian art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, posters, and photographs, covering major art movements such as realism, impressionism, neo-impressionism, symbolism, fauvism, expressionism, cubism, surrealism, and abstraction. Highlights include works by René Magritte, Paul Delvaux, Berthe Morisot, Constant Permeke, Pablo Picasso, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.The museum’s ancient art collection features Northern European and Italian masters, including landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. Its poster collection is notable for encompassing the complete lithographic output of Toulouse-Lautrec, alongside around 700 works by Belgian and European artists from the Belle Époque to the 1950s. Nineteenth-century Belgian art is well represented, from realism and orientalism to symbolist and impressionist works, while the 20th-century collection reflects modernist movements and artistic experimentation, including CoBrA and pop art. Contemporary acquisitions are guided by an expert committee to reflect current trends and support emerging artists.
The museum periodically rotates works from the permanent collection and regularly lends pieces for exhibitions worldwide. It also maintains educational spaces, a library, and secure storage, ensuring both public accessibility and the preservation of its holdings.