Les XX

Group of twenty Belgian artists

Les XX (French; "Les Vingt"; le vɛ̃; ) was a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years, they held an annual exhibition of their art; each year 20 other international artists were also invited to participate in their exhibition. Painters invited include Camille Pissarro (1887, 1889, 1891), Claude Monet (1886, 1889), Georges Seurat (1887, 1889, 1891, 1892), Paul Gauguin (1889, 1891), Paul Cézanne (1890), and Vincent van Gogh (1890, 1891 retrospective). Les XX was in some ways a successor to another group, L'Essor. The rejection of James Ensor's The Oyster Eater in 1883 by L'Essor Salon, following the earlier rejection by the Antwerp Salon, was one of the events that led to the formation of Les XX. The ideal of the group responded to the theories of Viollet le Duc, in particular that of the integration of the so called minor arts (decorative arts) with the major arts (architecture). In 1893, the society of Les XX was transformed into "La Libre Esthétique".

The 1884, 1885 and 1886 exhibitions were held at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. The later exhibitions were all held at the Museum of Modern Art of Brussels. Catulle Mendès discussed Richard Wagner. and Claude Monet, including Le pont d'Argenteuil and La Manneporte à Étretat. First performance of César Franck's Violon Sonata.

Walter Sickert, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot and Georges Pierre Seurat exhibit, with Seurat and Signac present at the opening. The major work shown is Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. In July, Les XX had an exhibition in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Exhibits of Albert Dubois Pillet, Alfred Sisley, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. Three concerts were given, with the first centered on Belgian composers like Auguste Dupont, Léon Soubre, Joseph Jacob, Paul Gilson and Gustave Huberti. Other composers whose work was performed were Fauré, Franck, Bréville, Bordes, Chausson, Albéric Magnard and Paul Vidal. and three vases and a statue by Paul Gauguin. Retrospective for Vincent van Gogh. Catalogue cover designed by Georges Lemmen. Memorial concert for César Franck and a second concert with new work by Vincent d'Indy, and Mary Cassatt. Three concert evenings were organised. The first concert presented the first version of Paul Gilson's La Mer, Guillaume Lekeu's Andromède and music by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov, and Franz Servais. The second showcased music by Alexis de Castillon, César Franck, Charles Bordes, Louis de Serres and Emmanuel Chabrier. The final concert included the first performance of Vincent d'Indy's Suite in D and Ernest Chausson's Concert. The other music played was composed by Gabriel Fauré, Charles Bordes, Camille Chevillard and Albéric Magnard.

More design was exhibited, including a table by Alfred William Finch, embroidery by Henry Van de Velde, and objects by Alexandre Charpentier. Paul Verlaine discussed the contemporary poetry. The first concert was centered on work by César Franck and the first performance of Ernest Chausson's Poème de l'amour et la mer The second concert contained works by d'Indy, Castillon, Fauré, Chabrier and Bréville. The third and final concert featured the première of Guillaume Lekeu's Violin Sonata, with also performances of compositions by Charles Smulders, Paul Gilson, Dorsan van Reysschoot and Alexis de Castillon.

Autour de 1900: L'Art Belge (1884–1918). London: The Arts Council, 1965. Block, Jane, Les XX and Belgian Avant Gardism 1868–1894, Studies in Fine Arts: The Avant garde, Ann Arbor: UMI Research press, 1984. Herbert, Robert. Georges Seurat, 1859–1891, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991. Les XX, Bruxelles. Catalogue des dix expositions annuelles, Brussels: Centre international pour l'étude de XIXe siècle, 1981. Stevens, Mary Anne and Hoozee, Robert (eds. ), Impressionism to Symbolism: The Belgian Avant Garde 1880–1900, exhib. cat. London: Royal Academy of Arts, London 7 July – 2 October 1994.