Luxembourgish art

The first examples of art with a national flavour are paintings and maps of the City of Luxembourg and its fortifications from the end of the 16th until the beginning of the 19th century, although these too were mostly created by foreign artists.

This was followed by interest in Impressionism and Expressionism in the early 20th century, the richest period in Luxembourg painting, while Abstraction became the focus of art after the Second World War.

A considerable number of sculptures and statues have been found in the ruins of Roman villas in various parts of Luxembourg, but the outstanding artistic treasure of the period is the Vichten mosaic which depicts the ancient Greek muses.

The refined Echternach style of painting is characterized by rich colouring, clear shapes and careful accentuation of the figures, interpreting the art of the Master of Trier with considerable originality.

In 1598, Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg published the oldest known view of Luxembourg City, a copper engraving that appeared in Civitates orbis terrarum (Cologne, 1598).

Half a century later, the Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu, drawing on Braun's work, published his "Luxemburgum" in the second volume of his Stedeboek (Amsterdam, 1649).

[4] It was at the beginning of the 19th century that Luxembourgish artists finally began to acquire a spirit of nationalism resulting in works emphasizing the beauty of the city and the country as a whole.

[5] Fresez also produced portraits clearly depicting not just lively facial features but also the figure's clothing including, for example, the transparency of the lace.

[8] Michel Engels (1851–1901) was an illustrator, painter and art teacher who is principally remembered for his sketches of the fortifications of Luxembourg City although he also painted a few watercolours.

His portraits, painted with strong brushstrokes, typically show figures with excessively large noses, sometimes looking like despairing clowns, but always attracting attention.

His painting of "Luxembourg", commissioned for the 1937 World Exposition in Paris is a good example of his Expressionist style with the houses stacked behind one another, the cubic form of the buildings and the exaggerated strength of the fortifications, so different from J. M. W. Turner's representation of almost the same scene.

[14] Another notable painter was the Impressionist Dominique Lang (1874–1919) whose paintings became increasingly uplifting, full of bright light and often depicting a young woman clothed in white.

He would venture out along the banks of the River Alzette, painting scenes of orchards, flower picking and fruit harvesting or of peasants' houses in the area where he lived.

Weis mastered the art of capturing the moment, poetically reproducing the misty light of the early morning, the heat of noon or the haze gathering in the valleys at sunset.

[20][21] The sculptor Claus Cito (1882–1965) is remembered above all for the Gëlle Fra (Golden Woman) sculpture crowning the Monument of Remembrance obelisk (1923), raised in memory of the Luxembourg soldiers who died for their country in the First World War.

While his postage stamps, posters and the logo for the emergency services have become part of Luxembourg's collective memory, his close attachment to his native Rumelange and the area's Red Rocks can be seen in his landscapes and engravings.

[31] Closely associated with the post-war artists was the sculptor Lucien Wercollier whose impressive abstract works in bronze and marble can be found not just in public places in Luxembourg but in the surrounding countries too.

The second major work, "The Echo", also a video, depicts an Alpine scene in which a tiny figure plays the cello, the simple sounds of the instrument being reflected by the mountains.

[36][37] In 1926, a number of avant-gardists including Joseph Kutter and Nico Klopp founded the Luxembourg secessionist movement which presented their Expressionist works at the annual exhibitions of the Salon de la Sécession until their aspirations were reconciled with the Cercle in 1930.

[38] In 1954, a group of Abstract artists including Emile Kirscht, Michel Stoffel and Lucien Wercollier founded Iconomaques which brought modern art to Luxembourg through the important exhibitions they arranged in 1954 and 1959.