Brussels. Since 1922, Maturity, A set of statues in white carrare marble due to the chisel of Victor Rousseau (1865-1954), sits in the center of a square created for the occasion of the central station in a stone and concrete district. We see a mature man, surrounded on both sides of female and male characters. In the wake of the redevelopment and extension of the central station metro station, the city of Brussels wanted to redevelop the area. She launched a call for projects with architects-urban planners, without mentioning the spell to be reserved for all statues, which was not classified.
The project selected is that of the Landsagiste Bas Smets, to whom we owe in particular the redevelopment of the surroundings of Notre-Dame de Paris. His project which plays the vegetation card does not keep the monumental whole of Victor Rousseau. Following the request by the city of an urban planning permit, the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites (CRMS), which had not been consulted, asks the region the classification of the whole square. What is refused, and in exchange, it is proposed to place the monument on the list of goods to be saved. A solution presented as more flexible, since it makes it possible to move the monument, while preserving it.
Inappropriate values
In the arguments put forward for the refusal of the classification, one will arouse an outcry, namely that “Although the work is a masterpiece of its time, it conveys values that are no longer in line with those of current society, with a patriarchal vision of social and family relationships conveyed by the work, with frozen stereotypes on the family and male power. »» This consideration is part of the Brussels Plan of gender mainstreamingadopted in 2021, which aims to adopt a gender perspective in conservation and redevelopment decisions of public spaces. This is why these considerations go wrong with the experts who expressed themselves at the invitation of the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites. For Francisca Vandepitte, curator at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (MRBAB) and specialist in modern and contemporary Belgian art, it is not a representation of the family but an allegory of the different ages of life. “” Maturity ist a relatively abstract work where groups of characters surrounding the bearded man can be read as the visualization of his reflections. In the symbolist context, and even more idealistic, there are no specific keys. »»
Julie Bawin, author of Public art and controversies: XVIIIe-Xxie centuries (CNRS Éditions), may design that in the context of a redevelopment project, it is complicated to integrate a work as monumental as Maturity, But what is more embarrassing for her is the lack of debate. “The work may not be understood, but it was certainly not perceived as offensive, there was no dispute movement, no petition that would deplore an offensive character and a work that would embody the domination of man over women. »» Unlike, unlike, she notes, the equestrian statues of Léopold II, criticized and tagged following the Black Lives Matter movement with the assent or understanding of part of the population. “” Here, it gives me the impression of disguising a purely vertical political decision, in act of bravery vis-à-vis very current fights which are essential but which are outside this case. »»
Beyond Maturity The question arises of the place of art in public space, and its management by the authorities. “I think the works may not have to stay for eternity in public space. There is really a reflection to be made on this temporality, but we must open the debate. »» In this ultra polarized debate, it has been announced that the site would host a contemporary work by Aglaïa Konrad, made from recovery materials supplying the more conservative recriminations. To extinguish the fire, the authorities would like to refocus the debate on urban issues. As of Maturity, A new case is in principle promised to him, but the site is still under study.
