Musée d'Art Moderne

Musée d'Art Moderne Review

Rather like New York's Guggenheim Museum in reverse, the Modern Art Museum burrows underground, circling downward eight floors. You can reach it by an underground passage from the Musée d'Art Ancien or you can enter it from the house on place Royale where Alexandre Dumas (père) once lived and wrote. The collection is strong on Belgian and French art of the past 100 years, including such Belgian artists as the Expressionist James Ensor and the Surrealists Paul Delvaux and René Magritte, as well as Pierre Alechinsky and sculptor Pol Bury. Highlights include Magritte's The Empire of Light and Delvaux's Pygmalion, and Ensor's Skeletons Fighting for a Smoked Herring. Notable works by non-Belgian artists include Francis Bacon's The Pope with Owls. There are English-language explanatory brochures and guided tours available. Note that lunch hours at this and the Musée d'Art Ancien are staggered so as not to inconvenience visitors.