Museums of the Far East

A few sundays ago Miguel and I went to the Museums of the Far East in Brussels. The buildings are magnificent and the whole area around it is very quite and green, good for jogging. Plenty of visitors were there walking their dogs or exploring the gardens with their families/ Hace algunos domingos, Miguel y yo fuimos a los Museos del Extremo Oriente en Bruselas. Los edificios son magníficos y toda la zona que lo rodea es muy tranquila y verde, bueno para correr. Varios de los visitantes fueron a pasear a sus perros o explorar los jardines con sus familias.

DOWNTON ABBEY? NOT QUITE. INSIDE THE CHINESE PAVILION. 

How did these pavillions ended up in Brussels? / Cómo terminaron estas pabellones en Bruselas?

Well.... after his visit to the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, Léopold II was amazed by oriental architecture. On the northern corner of the Royal Laeken Park, the king ordered that a Chinese Pavilion be built; he used it as his private restaurant/ Después de su visita a la Exposición Universal de 1900 en París, Léopold II quedó sorprendido por la arquitectura oriental. En la esquina norte del Parque Real de Laeken, el rey ordenó que se construyera un pabellón chino que utilizó como su restaurante privado.

He commissioned the Parisian architect Alexandre Marcel to design the Chinese Pavilion. The woodwork was made by specialists from Shanghai. Since 1946, the Pavilion became an annex of the Royal Museums of Art and History; and today, it houses a collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. The buildings were constructed in Belgium, but some parts came from Japan and China. The splendid red tower (Japanese Pavilion) has woodwork carved by experts from Yokohama, Japan/ Le encargó al arquitecto parisino Alexandre Marcel el diseño del Pabellón Chino. La carpintería fue realizada por especialistas de Shanghai. Desde 1946, el pabellón se convirtió en un anexo de los Museos Reales de Arte e Historia, y hoy en día, alberga una colección de porcelana china y japonesa. Los edificios fueron construidos en Bélgica, pero algunas partes procedían de Japón y China. La espléndida torre roja (Pabellón japonés) tiene madera tallada por expertos de Yokohama, Japón.

I couldn't see much inside the Japanese Pavilion but the woodwork and the floors are impressive.  The first foor is open for visitors and it houses a collection of Japanese ceramics. The other floors are closed. It is a shame because I´m pretty sure that the view must be good/ No pude ver mucho del interior del Pabellón de Japón, pero la madera y los pisos son impresionantes. El primer piso se encuentra abierto al público y alberga una colección de cerámica japonesa. Los otros pisos están cerrados. Es una lástima, porque estoy bastante segura de que la visión debe ser bueno.

The Chinese Pavilion has various small rooms richly decorated. It is certainly beautiful but what impressed me was the lack of authencity in the architecture and decor. European elements are everywhere and they were chosen based on the European´s concept of Asian living in that era. It is definetely less authentic than the Japanese Pavilion but the exhibition covers Japanese and Chinese art in pottery, drawings and war weapons, etc/ El pabellón chino tiene varias habitaciones pequeñas ricamente decoradas. Es de verdad hermoso pero lo que me impresionó fue la falta de autenticidad en la arquitectura y la decoración. Los elementos europeos están por todas partes y se eligieron basándose en el concepto europeo de vida de Asia en esa época. Es definitivamente menos auténtico que el pabellón japonés, pero la exposición abarca el arte japonés y chino en cerámica, dibujos y armas de guerra, etc. 

MIGUEL + ME

MIGUEL TURNING JAPANESE

MASK + EXAMPLE OF EUROPEAN ART + COAT OF ARMS OF LEUVEN (OLD DUTCH)

JAPANESE ART + JAPANESE POTTERY + INSIDE THE CHINESE PAVILION

If you want to visit, here´s the practical info:

Avenue Van Praet 44

1020 Brussels

tel.:             + 32 (0)2 268 16 08      

Opening hours

Tuesdays to Fridays: 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturdays, Sundays and feast-days: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Access

Train : The museums can be reached by public transport from the ‘Brussels North’ station.

Tram : 3 and 7: alight at ‘Araucaria’.

Bus : 53, 230, 231, 232: alight at ‘De Wand’.

Admission prices

€ 4: Permanent Collections

€ 3 : groups (min. 10 ), 13-17 years olds (accompanied by an adult relative), students, CJP members, senior citizens (60 +), foreign teachers, staff of other museums and those with ‘Visit Brussels’, ‘Must of Brussels’ and Visit Brussels Line’ tickets.

€1.5 : school groups, student groups, young person groups, unemployed persons, those on subsistence wages, the handicapped, artists, art-college students.

Free : children under 13 (accompanied by an adult relative), visually handicapped persons with an attendant, teachers, members of the press and of the ‘Per Musea’ support group, Friends of the Educational Service, Friends of the RMAH, members of the ICOM, the VMV, the ASF and the BMR, ‘Touristische Attracties’ and ‘City of Brussels’ guides, and those with a DWTC countdown card.

Admission free for everyone on the first Wednesday of the month from 1 p.m. on.

Audioguide

Audioguide available in English, French, German and Dutch.