Выставочная деятельность общества «XX»: значение и особенности
Exhibition activities of the society "Les XX": Values and peculiarities

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the exhibition activities of the Belgian art group «les XX», which was formed in 1883 and operated until 1893. Analyzed in detail the list of the participants, the author concludes that the breadth of artistic connections in Brussels is not limited only by France, as it is commonly believed in the national historiography. On the basis of comparative analysis of selected works of the leading representatives of the society «les XX», such as Fernand Khnopff and Rysselberghe, with paintings by Whistler, the author points to the significant role of England during the formation of the Belgian avant-garde. The article also details the problem of Belgian public perception of Georges Seurat’s works, which were first presented at the Brussels Exhibition in 1887. «Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889» by James Ensor is put forward in this context as a kind of antithesis of «A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte». Special attention is paid to the activities of the group «les XX» outside Belgium, especially in Amsterdam and The Hague. Society «les XX», according to the author, is not only the cradle of the Belgian avant-garde at the turn of the 19-20th centuries, but it actively promotes contemporary fine art to the European art proscenium.

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