Revisiting Les XX and La Libre Esthétique

1883 ushered in a wind of change that swept through Brussels’ cultural scene. Twenty artists gave their backing to Les XX (Les Vingt), a new artists’ collective, whose annual exhibition was heralded as “le centre du magnifique mouvement en avant qui, dans tous les domaines de l'Art, emporte notre pays” [the centre of the splendid movement that is propelling our country forward in all areas of art] (L’Art moderne, 11 November 1883). Almost 150 years later, it would seem that the diverse group of painters and sculptors, whose numbers included enfants terribles like James Ensor and Félicien Rops, have achieved that ambition.

It is an extraordinary coincidence that the foundation of Les XX and the death of Richard Wagner both took place in 1883. That same year Octave Maus, the linchpin of Les XX and later La Libre Esthétique, was in Bayreuth for the Wagner commemoration. In his book Souvenirs d’un Wagnériste (1888), the Wagnerian pur sang describes the opening of the Bayreuther Festspielhaus in 1876, which he had attended with other Vingtistes. It draws an interesting distinction between Belgium’s music history and that of France in terms of attitudes towards Wagner. Whereas the French relied largely on the rich artistic history of their motherland for the development of their national and cultural identity, artists of the young kingdom of Belgium adopted a more cosmopolitan stance and deferred to the art of cultural giants like France, Germany and Russia. So as far as le culte wagnérien was concerned, Brussels was a less hostile environment than Paris, where Richard Wagner’s unsuccessful stay and a tumultuous performance of Tannhäuser in 1861 had already soured the relationship. The war between France and Prussia in 1870-71 brought the animosity to a head so that France’s eventual acceptance of Wagnerism was no more than lukewarm; not until after Wagner’s death in 1883 did Paris - “où les résistances semblaient insurmontables” (L’Art moderne, 27 April 1884) - appear to cease its resistance

In Brussels, by contrast, Wagner’s art had long permeated the artistic world and so, too, the activities of Les XX. This cultural scene held an attraction for many international artists, not least Parisians. As Wagner was so long a persona non grata in the Parisian opera houses, French Wagnerians sought sanctuary at the La Monnaie theatre in Brussels. From as early as 1870, it was from here that the majority of the French-language versions of Wagner’s music dramas were first heard, culminating in the French-language première of Parsifal in 1914. Consequently, La Monnaie emerged not only as an international Wagnerian hotspot alongside the Bayreuther Festspielhaus, but also as an ideal platform for French opera composers who welcomed Wagner’s influence on their own work. And so it was that many Wagneresque operas – such as Vincent d’Indy’s Fervaal and Ernest Chausson’s Le roi Arthus — were performed for the first time at La Monnaie.

This aesthetic open-mindedness made Brussels, and more specifically the salons of Les XX and La Libre Esthétique, an artistic laboratory; 90% of the music performed during their exhibitions was new, often unpublished work. Thanks in part to renowned performers - the Ysaÿe brothers were regular guests, – these concerts became musical events of the highest level and kept a finger on the pulse of musical modernism.

In the 2024-25 season, several concerts in La Monnaie’s Concertini series explore the generous contribution made by Les XX and La Libre Esthétique to musical life in Brussels. Accompanying essays pursue in greater depth the forms that Wagnerism took within these art groups and also the international reach of their expositions musicales, the springboard these concerts provided for young artists and, of course, the exciting repertoire.

This research project is supported by the Research Foundation – Flanders