Bierstuben, Cottages and Art Deco: Regionalism, Nationalism and Internationalism at the Belgian World Fairs

Abstract

Your Antwerp correspondent wrote recently how Belgium, previously the battlefield of Europe, now seems to want to become its permanent exhibition ground" (1) . It was with these words that the Flemish poet Karel van de Woestijne quoted his friend Emmanuel de Bom when he wrote in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant on 24 December 1906 of the bickering in the Brussels municipal council about what would be the most suitable site for the international exhibition of 1910. Belgium was indeed the country in Europe where the world fairs seemed to have permanently taken root as giant bon marchés. Before the First World War, between 1885 and 1914, no fewer than six world fairs were held. They took place in Antwerp (1885 and 1894), Brussels (1897 and, Liège (1905) and Ghent (1913). After the First World War, it was again the turn of Antwerp and Liège (1930) to stage a joint exhibition as part of the celebrations to mark the 100 th anniversary of Belgium's existence. As a result of this last exhibition, Brussels moved its exhibition, which had been planned for the centenary celebrations, to 1935.Following a short introduction to the world fairs, this article looks at the possible shifts which occurred between the pre-and post-war world fairs in Belgium. The discussion will focus on the tensions between regionalism (as and beyond an aesthetic interest for cities and the countryside), nationalism (as a quest for unification of the national states) and internationalism (as the pursuit of universal legitimacy) (2) which were apparent and in particular on the tension between regionalist architectural styles and modernist approaches. Special attention is devoted to the regional-style architecture which was present at the world fairs from the late nineteenth century onwards.

Exposições internacionais: uma abordagem historiográfica a partir da América Latina

“…Its focus is on the tensions between what was emerging, in each country, as a "national-urban" discourse and the world considered "regional" or "provincial." It also considers the relationship between colonial expansion and the marginalization of non-urban populations, usually depicted negatively in folklore as "backward" and "primitive," even though their cultural manifestations were very often considered as "typical" and "genuine," and important for the definition of national traditions (Ageron, 1997;Peer, 1998;Giberti, 2008;Storm, 2010;Storm, Vandevoorde, 2012). These points are especially relevant in countries with marked regional differences, irrespective of geographical area, such as the USA, Switzerland, France and Italy.…”