MDD (museum Dhondt-Dhaenens)

The Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens is a private foundation recognized by the Flemish Government. As a museum it opens up important private collections of modern and contemporary with a social relevance. As a contemporary art center she wants to play an active role in the international art scene.

The Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, near the village of Deurle and situated on the River Lys, was founded by the couple Jules and Irma Dhondt-Dhaenens. They gave in 1967 commissioned architect Erik Van Biervliet to create a modernist building in the vicinity of their own home. The museum was to house their collection and at the same time a place where various cultural and artistic activities were possible.

At the first stone of the Museum Mrs. Jules Dhondt-Dhaenens on September 19, 1967, a lead pipe was bricked containing the statutes of the new museum. In those statutes stipulated that the museum was intended to house the art collection, resulting from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jules Dhondt-Dhaenens and make it accessible to the public. The building and associated lands could also serve for organizing all kinds of events that would promote the general culture and welfare in Flanders. The will of the couple was to emancipate the Flemish people through this cultural road. Jules Dhondt was profiling has long been one of the most loyal patrons of the Flemish Movement without ever explicitly political. He was one of the founders of the Commercial Bank, the first Flemish bank. He also financed the early sixties the first Festival of Flanders in Brussels, which was then seen as a provocative statement of the Flemish in Brussels. With the operation of the museum Jules Dhondt hoped to elevate the Flemish people culturally. To sit Jules Dhondt invited committed people from various political tendencies in the Board of Directors, all of whom were supporters of the Flemish cause. Efforts for a culturally and economically independent Flanders have to be seen in a proper time frame. It is a striving for freedom and recognition of the Flemish language and Flemish heritage. The couple saw the museum as a cultural generator for the region. While the Association MHK in Ghent and the ICC in Antwerp itself, were focused at that time on the international contemporary art, the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens aimed to provide a platform for local and Flemish artists.

On November 30, 1968 the inauguration of the museum took place. Walter Van Beselaere, then curator of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp, gave a speech the following advice to the large audience at the opening: "Come back to this museum, only during the day and preferably in solar weather, because only you will each painting can take on, brought to life by the blessing of the irreplaceable natural light, contained in a white neighborhood in a living contact with the wonderful Lys Landscape thee from off the hall, thanks to the vertical slit windows, safe present look and admire, to the overarching heaven, which is a blessing high above the glorious deed of this donation remains tense. "

The Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens has a special collection of works by Flemish artists. These works were collected from the end of the 1920s by the couple Jules and Irma Dhondt-Dhaenens. They decided to open their collections to the public with the creation of a new museum in 1967. The modernist building designed by architect Erik Van Biervliet had to be at once a place where possible, various cultural and artistic activities were.

The basic collection includes works by, among others, James Ensor, Gust. Leon De Smet, Valerius de Saedeleer, Constant Permeke, Albert Servaes, Frits Van den Berghe and Gustave of Woestyne. Meanwhile, there are also a large number of contemporary artists added as David Tremlett, Marthe Wéry, Marcel Maeyer, Joelle Tuerlinckx, Koen Theys and Raoul De Keyser.

Works from the permanent collection are, due to the temporary exhibitions, not permanent display at the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens. Consult the website or contact the museum for more information on the temporary collection presentations.