This summer, we spent a day at Musée L in Louvain-la-Neuve, and it turned out to be exactly the kind of place we love. The building is remarkable, the furniture has a story of its own, and inside is an extraordinary concentration of Belgian art from the twentieth century.

A Building Worth Coming For

We were already taken by the building before seeing a single work. Designed by André Jacqmain between 1969 and 1975 as the UCLouvain Library of Science and Technology, it is an uncompromising piece of Belgian brutalism, with its angular volumes, concrete structure and generous open spaces. Jacqmain worked closely with Jules Wabbes, who designed the original furniture and interior details. Some of the reading tables are even still in the museum.

A Glimpse Inside Pierre Caille's World

We were particularly happy to see 'Les coulisses de l'atelier de Pierre Caille'. The exhibition grew out of a 2018 donation by the artist's family and brought together works and objects that had remained in his studio, including several pieces restored especially for the occasion. Pierre Caille is difficult to pin down, which is exactly what makes him so interesting.

His ceramics in particular have an unmistakable character, somewhere between sculpture, folk object and surreal invention. 

The Names on the Walls

Then there is the collection itself. Tapta, Jean Rets, Jo Delahaut, Bram Bogart, Luc Peire, Walter Leblanc, Pol Bury, Gaston Bertrand, Floris Jespers, Alechinsky, Pal Horvath, Louis Van Lint and Paul Delvaux are among the Belgian artists represented. The collection also extends beyond postwar abstraction, into surrealism, figurative art, photography and ancient European art, giving the museum a much broader scope than Belgian modernism alone.

For us, Musée L was a perfect combination of architecture, design and Belgian modernism. A remarkable building, original Wabbes furniture, Pierre Caille and so many great Belgian artists under one roof. Quite simply, everything we love in one place.

→  Pierre Caille in the Maison Moderniste Collection

→  Jules Wabbes in the Maison Moderniste Collection