The theme? The Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Can art save the world? This is a question which already made many generations of artists, curators and spectators think deep. The question stayed in spite of all this attention unanswered, and maybe it is even better so. Ensor ou le sens des images makes however, as it seems, fun of this whole discussion. Is it possible that the specific view of the Liegois artist Jacques Charlier is to blame?
Since 2004, the countries belonging to the Eurosystem have received, from the European Council, the right to mint commemorative 2€-coins, but only once a year and one per country. These coins are legal tender in the whole euro area. They are struck to commemorate historic or current events of a specific importance.
The Belgian banknote has always been the nation’s ambassador. At its very beginning national allegories decorated the note, later on they were replaced by royals and only the latter series made room for Belgian historical or cultural figures. By doing so the iconographic field became much larger for the latter series.
The 500 francs Magritte type, issued 16th April 1998, was the last new note of a series that started some 147 years ago. 1998 was also the first centenary of Magritte’s birthday. To commemorate this Belgian surrealist artist the Brussels Museum of Fine Arts organised an exhibition with no less than 335 pieces out of his vast body of work.
In 1830 Belgium was the most industrialised country on the continent. In the period 1830-1848 a very small number of banks financed the Belgian industrial revolution. Each of them had the right to issue paper money.
We present you a postcard depicting one of Belgium’s former finance ministers: Camille Gutt (1884-1971). Many people still remember him on account of the post World War II currency reform with which his name is linked: the Gutt operation. But that was not the only remarkable achievement in his long and full career.
The Universal and International Exhibition – Brussels 1958, Expo ’58 for short, opened its doors 17th April north of the Brussels city centre at the Heysel plains with the Osseghem Park in the middle. Before the final closure of the gates on October, 19th almost 42 million people visited the Expo and Brussels was completely transformed.
Belgium got its independence in 1830. The history of the Belgian franc – replaced by the euro in 1999 – dates back to 1832 when its characteristics were defined by law. The first “belgian” coins were struck a few years earlier, in 1790.
The design of the euro banknotes depicts the architectural styles of seven periods in Europe’s cultural history. Compared to the former notes of the member states of the euro area which can be regarded as glorious portrait galleries, the euro notes no longer depict portraits from famous persons of the euro area. Questions that might have given rise to discussion were, amongst others: who? males? females? what nationality? In the 20th century the portrait became one of the main motifs of the Belgian notes.
