The Magritte Museum reopens after restoration work

Over the last 15 years, over 4 million visitors have crossed the threshold of the iconic Magritte Museum in Brussels, the jewel in the crown of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, famous for being home to the world’s largest collection of works by the surrealist master . After six months of restoration, which began on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the birth of René Magritte, on 7 October last the museum reopened its doors to the public in a renewed guise. IN BRUSSELS THE MAGRITTE MUSEUM IS ALL NEW “René Magritte lives and lives again thanks to all the great exhibitions dedicated to him in the 4 corners of the world, but also through the exceptional Magritte Museum”, underlines Charly Herscovici, President of the Magritte Foundation. While maintaining the intimate atmosphere, the soft lighting, the visit route set according to a chronological and thematic criterion, the 2,800 square meters of the museum have been renewed in terms of finishes and technological equipment. From the flooring to the cameras, from the multimedia equipment to the lighting, now entirely LED, the museum has been the subject of a profound restyling, which has not compromised its appreciated identity. In addition to the restoration interventions, the museum’s new acquisitions are also of great importance, made possible by loans and donations: in fact, to the over 230 paintings, drawings, sculptures, advertising posters, photographs and films that document the artist’s career, with the reopening, another 29 masterpieces are added. Overall, the intervention required funding of 450 thousand euros.THE HISTORY OF THE MAGRITTE MUSEUM IN BRUSSELS Housed in the elegant neoclassical building Altenloh Hotel, the Magritte Museum was born from Philippe Roberts-Jones’ passion for the Belgian painter: since 1984, in fact, Robert-Jones had made the Salle Magritte one of the highlights of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, of which he was curator. Continuing to expand the collection, Magritte’s paintings gradually “invaded” the other spaces of the museum, so, in 2005, it was decided to dedicate a separate location to what had become a collection of unique value over time. The project finally materialized in 2009, thanks to the mediation of Charly Herscovici, president of the Magritte Foundation.[Immagine in apertura: Musée Magritte. Photo Eric-Danhier]