Editing Belgium (section)

===Fine arts===
{{See also|List of Belgian painters|Architecture of Belgium|Music of Belgium}}
[[File:Lamgods open.jpg|thumb|left|''The [[Ghent Altarpiece]]: The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb'' (interior view), painted 1432 by [[Jan van Eyck|van Eyck]]]]
Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich. The [[Mosan art]], the [[Early Netherlandish painting|Early Netherlandish]],<ref name="Nv4HY">{{cite web|title=Low Countries, 1000–1400&nbsp;AD|work=Timeline of Art History|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]|year=2007|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/euwl/ht07euwl.htm|access-date=10 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415094905/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/euwl/ht07euwl.htm|archive-date=15 April 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting|Flemish Renaissance]] and [[Flemish Baroque painting|Baroque painting]]<ref name="HFu1w">{{cite web|title=Low Countries, 1400–1600&nbsp;AD|work=Timeline of Art History|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|year=2007|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/08/euwl/ht08euwl.htm|access-date=10 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429051506/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/08/euwl/ht08euwl.htm|archive-date=29 April 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> and major examples of [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]], [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]], [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque architecture]]<ref name="LFwFJ">Several examples of major architectural realizations in Belgium belong to [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage List]]:{{cite web|title=Belgium|work=Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/be|access-date=15 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428173145/https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/be|archive-date=28 April 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> are milestones in the history of art. While the 15th century's art in the Low Countries is dominated by the religious paintings of [[Jan van Eyck]] and [[Rogier van der Weyden]], the 16th century is characterized by a broader panel of styles such as [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder|Peter Breughel]]'s landscape paintings and [[Lambert Lombard]]'s representation of the antique.<ref name="LjaN3">{{cite book|language=fr|first=Jacques|last=Hendrick|title=La peinture au pays de Liège|year=1987|location=Liège|publisher=Editions du Perron|isbn=978-2-87114-026-9|page=24}}</ref> Though the Baroque style of [[Peter Paul Rubens]] and [[Anthony van Dyck]] flourished in the early 17th century in the Southern Netherlands,<ref name="bGwvp">{{cite book|language=de|first=Herwig|last=Guratzsch|title=Die große Zeit der niederländische Malerei|year=1979|publisher=Verlag Herder|location=Freiburg im Beisgau|page=7}}</ref> it gradually declined thereafter.<ref name="I0Pep">{{cite web|title=Low Countries, 1600–1800&nbsp;AD|work=Timeline of Art History|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|year=2007|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/09/euwl/ht09euwl.htm|access-date=10 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513131424/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/09/euwl/ht09euwl.htm|archive-date=13 May 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="9nPUy">{{cite web|title=Art History: Flemish School: (1600–1800)—Artists: (biography & artworks)|url=http://wwar.com/masters/movements/flemish_school.html|date=5 February 2006|publisher=World Wide Arts Resources|access-date=10 May 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091013022635/http://wwar.com/masters/movements/flemish_school.html|archive-date=13 October 2009}}—A general presentation of the Flemish artistic movement with a list of its artists, linking to their biographies and artworks</ref>

During the 19th and 20th centuries many original [[romanticism|romantic]], [[expressionism|expressionist]] and [[surrealism|surrealist]] Belgian painters emerged, including [[James Ensor]] and other artists belonging to the [[Les XX]] group, [[Constant Permeke]], [[Paul Delvaux]] and [[René Magritte]]. The avant-garde [[COBRA (avant-garde movement)|CoBrA movement]] appeared in the 1950s, while the sculptor [[Panamarenko]] remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art.<ref name="2jzAd">{{cite web|url=http://wwar.com/masters/nationalities/belgian.html|title=Belgian Artists: (biographies & artworks)|date=5 February 2006|publisher=World Wide Arts Resources|access-date=10 May 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515200408/http://wwar.com/masters/nationalities/belgian.html|archive-date=15 May 2016}}—List of Belgian painters, linking to their biographies and artworks</ref><ref name="1BIrR">{{cite web|author=Baudson, Michel|title=Panamarenko|publisher=Flammarion (Paris), quoted at presentation of the XXIII Bienal Internacional de São Paulo|url=http://www1.uol.com.br/bienal/23bienal/universa/iueopa.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207233008/http://www1.uol.com.br/bienal/23bienal/universa/iueopa.htm|archive-date=7 February 2007|access-date=10 May 2007|year=1996|url-status=dead}}</ref> Multidisciplinary artists [[Jan Fabre]], [[Wim Delvoye]] and the painter [[Luc Tuymans]] are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene.

Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the 19th and 20th centuries, including the work of [[Victor Horta]] and [[Henry van de Velde]], who were major initiators of the [[Art Nouveau]] style.<ref name="ibivW">[http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/brussels.php Brussels, capital of Art Nouveau (page 1)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509094014/http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/brussels.php|date=9 May 2007}}, {{cite web|title=(page 2)|year=2007|publisher=Senses Art Nouveau Shop, Brussels|url=http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/brussels.php?page=2|access-date=11 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304211919/http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/brussels.php?page=2|archive-date=4 March 2007|url-status=live}} (for example)</ref><ref name="jIXeI">{{cite web|title=Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)|work=[[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage List]]|publisher=UNESCO|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1005|quote=The appearance of Art Nouveau in the closing years of the 19th century marked a decisive stage in the evolution of architecture, making possible subsequent developments, and the Town Houses of Victor Horta in Brussels bear exceptional witness to its radical new approach.|access-date=16 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513225235/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1005|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:TV-uitzending Domino Jacques Brel tijdens de opname in Amsterdam, Marcanti, Bestanddeelnr 914-8399.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jacques Brel]]]]
The [[vocal music]] of the [[Franco-Flemish School]] developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture.<ref name="Y5k58">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Western music, the Franco-Flemish school|quote=Most significant musically was the pervasive influence of musicians from the Low Countries, whose domination of the music scene during the last half of the 15th century is reflected in the period designations the Netherlands school and the Franco-Flemish school.|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|year=2007|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-15698/Western-music|access-date=15 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208084519/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-15698/Western-music|archive-date=8 December 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, there was an emergence of major violinists, such as [[Henri Vieuxtemps]], [[Eugène Ysaÿe]] and [[Arthur Grumiaux]], while [[Adolphe Sax]] invented the saxophone in 1846. The composer [[César Franck]] was born in Liège in 1822. Contemporary [[popular music]] in Belgium is also of repute. Jazz musicians [[Django Reinhardt]] and [[Toots Thielemans]] and singer [[Jacques Brel]] have achieved global fame. Nowadays, singer [[Stromae]] has been a musical revelation in Europe and beyond, having great success. In rock/pop music, [[Telex (band)|Telex]], [[Front 242]], [[K's Choice]], [[Hooverphonic]], [[Zap Mama]], [[Soulwax]] and [[Deus (band)|dEUS]] are well known. In the heavy metal scene, bands like [[Machiavel (band)|Machiavel]], [[Channel Zero (band)|Channel Zero]] and [[Enthroned]] have a worldwide fan-base.<ref name="XSYvA">Two comprehensive discussions of rock and pop music in Belgium since the 1950s:<br />{{cite web|title=The Timeline—A brief history of Belgian Pop Music|date=March 2007|work=The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives|publisher=Flanders Music Centre, Brussels|url=http://houbi.com/belpop/timeline.htm|access-date=7 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712181502/http://houbi.com/belpop/timeline.htm|archive-date=12 July 2007|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web|title=Belgian Culture—Rock|year=2006|publisher=Vanberg & DeWulf Importing|url=http://www.belgianexperts.com/rock.php|access-date=11 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607110011/http://www.belgianexperts.com/rock.php|archive-date=7 June 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<!-- Please note: How can you list Amelie Nothomb and not Jacqueline Harpman!? Jacqueline Harpman more than deserves to be in this list. -->

Belgium has produced several well-known [[Belgian literature|authors]], including the poets [[Emile Verhaeren]], [[Guido Gezelle]], [[Robert Goffin]] and novelists [[Hendrik Conscience]], [[Stijn Streuvels]], [[Georges Simenon]], [[Suzanne Lilar]], [[Hugo Claus]] and [[Amélie Nothomb]]. The poet and playwright [[Maurice Maeterlinck]] won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] in 1911. ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' by [[Hergé]] is the best known of [[Franco-Belgian comics]], but many other major authors, including [[Peyo]] (''[[The Smurfs]]''), [[André Franquin]] (''[[Gaston Lagaffe]]''), [[Dupa]] (''[[Cubitus]]''), [[Morris (comics)|Morris]] (''[[Lucky Luke]]''), [[Greg (comics)|Greg]] (''[[Achille Talon]]''), [[Lambil]] (''[[Les Tuniques Bleues]]''), [[Edgar P. Jacobs]] and [[Willy Vandersteen]] brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry a worldwide fame.<ref name="PtwmV">{{cite book|title=Comics in French: the European bande dessinée in context|author=Grove, Laurence|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2010|isbn=978-1-84545-588-0}}</ref> Additionally, famous crime author [[Agatha Christie]] created the character [[Hercule Poirot]], a Belgian detective, who has served as a [[protagonist]] in a number of her acclaimed mystery novels.

[[Cinema of Belgium|Belgian cinema]] has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on-screen.{{efn|Notable Belgian films based on works by Flemish authors include: ''De Witte'' (author [[Ernest Claes]]) movie by Jan Vanderheyden and Edith Kiel in 1934, remake as ''De Witte van Sichem'' directed by [[Robbe De Hert]] in 1980; ''De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen'' ([[Johan Daisne]]) [[André Delvaux]] 1965; ''Mira'' ('De teleurgang van de Waterhoek' by [[Stijn Streuvels]]) [[Fons Rademakers]] 1971; ''[[Malpertuis]] (aka The Legend of Doom House)'' ([[Jean Ray (author)|Jean Ray]] [pen name of Flemish author who mainly wrote in French, or as John Flanders in Dutch]) [[Harry Kümel]] 1971<!--not 1973 as hereafter 'see also' link, it won the Cannes Festival in 1972-->; ''De loteling'' ([[Hendrik Conscience]]) Roland Verhavert 1974; ''Dood van een non'' ([[Maria Rosseels]]) Paul Collet and Pierre Drouot 1975; ''Pallieter'' ([[Felix Timmermans]]) Roland Verhavert 1976; ''De komst van Joachim Stiller'' ([[Hubert Lampo]]) [[Harry Kümel]] 1976; ''[[De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (novel)|De Leeuw van Vlaanderen]]'' ([[Hendrik Conscience]]) [[Hugo Claus]] (a famous author himself) 1985; ''[[Daens (film)|Daens]]'' ('Pieter Daens' by [[Louis Paul Boon]]) [[Stijn Coninx]] 1992; see also [https://web.archive.org/web/20070514023803/http://www.ledoux.be/nl/dvdmain.htm Filmarchief ''les DVD!s de la cinémathèque''] (in Dutch). Retrieved on {{Nowrap|7 June}} 2007.}} Other Belgian directors include [[André Delvaux]], [[Stijn Coninx]], [[Luc Dardenne|Luc]] and [[Jean-Pierre Dardenne]]; well-known actors include [[Jean-Claude Van Damme]], [[Jan Decleir]] and [[Marie Gillain]]; and successful films include ''[[Bullhead (film)|Bullhead]], [[Man Bites Dog (film)|Man Bites Dog]]'' and ''[[The Alzheimer Affair]]''.<ref name="yH1O7">A review of the Belgian cinema till about 2000 can be found at{{cite web|title=History of Cinema in Belgium|work=Film Birth|year=2007|url=http://www.filmbirth.com/belgium.html|access-date=26 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914135756/http://www.filmbirth.com/belgium.html|archive-date=14 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Belgium is also home to a number of successful fashion designers [[:Category:Belgian fashion designers]].