Royal Museums of Fine Arts Has Opened Two Exhibitions
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Loading... - Willow Cook
- 14 Oct 2024
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The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium has unveiled two major exhibitions in Brussels, offering a rich blend of surrealism, feminist commentary, and artistic process. Both exhibitions opened on October 11, promising visitors a unique cultural experience.
René Magritte x Emily Mae Smith
This exhibition brings together the works of renowned Belgian surrealist René Magritte and New York-based painter Emily Mae Smith, whose art reflects Magritte’s influence while asserting her own distinctive voice. The display features 40 pieces by Smith alongside Magritte’s iconic works, including his famous imagery of bowler hats, apples, female nudes, and the pipe that “is not a pipe” (Ceci n’est pas une pipe).
During a private tour, Smith described the experience as a “dream come true,” explaining how she intentionally integrated her paintings between Magritte’s to create a visual narrative. A recurring character in her work is a human-like broomstick, which she conceptualized after watching Disney’s Fantasia.
“I took on the broom as an avatar,” Smith said, noting that it reflects both her identity as a painter and a feminist. “In the art world, women are often seen as objects rather than creators. The broom in my paintings refuses to be someone else’s tool.”
Despite being outspoken about her feminist approach, Smith expressed no reservations about Magritte’s female nudes: “There’s nothing wrong with painting a naked woman or evoking feelings of lust—women have those feelings too.” The René Magritte x Emily Mae Smith exhibition runs until March 2, 2025.
Drafts, From Rubens to Khnopff
The second exhibition, Drafts, From Rubens to Khnopff, dives into the importance of sketches in the creative process. With more than 100 sketches on display, the exhibition features works by renowned artists such as Rembrandt, Constable, Ensor, Magritte, Jordaens, and Stevens.
Véronique Bücken, curator of 15th- and 16th-century paintings, explained that many of these sketches had been locked away in storage for years, with 30 pieces recently restored to address aging and previous cleaning damage. Among the most notable highlights are Peter Paul Rubens’ 12 oil-on-wood sketches, including The Birth of Venus and The Fall of Icarus, and Magritte’s The Ignorant Fairy, accompanied by preparatory studies of his muse, tennis star Anne-Marie Crowet.
The exhibition guides visitors through 12 themed rooms, revealing the stories behind the sketches and their connection to the final artworks. Several pieces showcase how detailed underdrawings, invisible to the naked eye but detectable through infrared technology, form the foundations of the paintings. The collection also features outdoor studies, abstract sketches, and preparatory works that blur the line between draft and finished product.
Together, these two exhibitions offer visitors a compelling exploration of artistic inspiration, technique, and commentary on identity. Whether through Smith’s feminist reinterpretations of surrealism or the intricate preparatory work of historical masters, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts invites audiences to experience the art in new and thought-provoking ways.
