Culture

Belgian cultural life has become concentrated within each linguistic community, and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced. There are no bilingual universities (except the Royal Military Academy), no common media and no single large cultural or scientific organisation in which both main communities are represented. Despite its divisions, the region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture.

Art and Architecture

Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich. The Mosan art, the Early Netherlandish, the Flemish Renaissance and Baroque painting, and major examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture are milestones in the history of art. Famous names in this classic tradition include Jan van Eyck and Pieter Brueghel the Elder. The historical artistic production of the Flemish before the early seventeenth century Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck is often not distinguished from that of the Dutch. In the southern Netherlands it gradually declined thereafter, although high quality tapestry continued to be created until well into the eighteenth century.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many original romantic, expressionist and surrealist Belgian painters emerged, including Egide Wappers, James Ensor, Constant Permeke and René Magritte. The avant-garde CoBrA movement appeared in the 1950s (the name coming from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels (Br), Amsterdam (A)), while the sculptor Panamarenko remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art. The multidisciplinary artist Jan Fabre and the painter Luc Tuymans are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene. Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the work of Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, who were major initiators of the Art Nouveau style.

Cinema

Belgian cinema, often influenced by the Dutch or French, has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on-screen. The absence of a major Belgian cinema company, however, has forced several talented directors to emigrate, or participate in low-budget productions such as Marc Didden's Brussels by Night (1983). Other Belgian directors include André Delvaux, Stijn Coninx, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne; well-known actors include Jan Decleir and Marie Gillain; and successful films include Man Bites Dog and The Alzheimer Affair.

Literature

Belgium has produced several well-known authors, including the poet Emile Verhaeren and novelists Hendrik Conscience, Georges Simenon, Suzanne Lilar 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, Edgar P. Jacobs, Marc Sleen, and Willy Vandersteen brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry on a par with the U.S.A. and Japan.

Folkore

Folklore plays a major role in Belgium's cultural life: the country has a comparatively high number of processions, cavalcades, 'ommegangs' and 'ducasses', and local festivals and kermesse, nearly always with an originally religious background. The Carnival of Binche with its famous Gilles, and the 'Processional Giants and Dragons' of Ath, Brussels, Dendermonde, Mechelen and Mons are recognized by UNESCO as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Other examples are the Carnival of Aalst; the still very religious processions of the Holy Blood in Bruges, Virga Jesse in Hasselt, and Hanswijk in Mechelen; the August 15 festival in Liège; and the Walloon festival in Namur. A major non-official holiday is the Saint Nicholas Day, a festivity for children and, in Liège, for students.

Music

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. The nineteenth and twentieth-centuries witnessed the appearance of major violinists, such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Eugène Ysaÿe and Arthur Grumiaux, while Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone in 1846. Belgium has also produced music of contemporary note. The first Belgian singer to successfully pursue an international career is Bobbejaan Schoepen, pioneer of varieté and pop music. Jazz musician Toots Thielemans has achieved global fame, as have the singers Jacques Brel and Italy-born Adamo. In rock/pop music, K's Choice, Hooverphonic, Front 242 and dEUS are well known.

Sport

Football and cycling are especially popular amongst Belgians. Eddy Merckx is considered one of the greatest cyclists ever, given five victories of the Tour de France and numerous other bicycle races records; his hour speed record set in 1972 stood for twelve years. Belgium has produced two female tennis champions: Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.

The Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit hosts the Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix. Belgium's most notable driver is Jacky Ickx, winner of eight Grands Prix and six 24 Hours of Le Mans. Belgium also has a strong reputation in motocross; world champions include Roger De Coster, Joel Robert, Georges Jobé, Eric Geboers, Joël Smets and Stefan Everts.