Temple of Human Passions, Cinquantenaire

  • French: Pavillon des passions humaines
  • Dutch: Tempel van de menselijke driften

  • Address: Ave des la Joyeuse Entree
  • Vicinity: Near the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Building

[Human Passions is] a pile of naked and contorted bodies, muscled wrestlers in delirium, an absolute and incomparable childish concept. It is at once chaotic and vague, bloated and pretentious, pompous and empty.... And what if, instead of paying for 300,000 francs of "passions", the government simply bought works of art? - The journal L'Art Moderne (NL), 1890

The Temple of Human Passions is a neoclassical art pavilion located in Cinquantenaire Park, Brussels, Belgium. The Greek temple, designed by Art Nouveau architect, Victor Horta, houses Human Passions, a stone relief by sculptor Jef Lambeaux. - AsNotedIn


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1889/00/00 Victor Horta Architect On the recommendation of Alphonse Balat, Victor Horta is commissioned for 100000 francs to design a pavilion to house Jef Lambeaux's sculpture "The Human Passions" at the Brussels International Exposition. Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles (1897)
1889/00/00 Alphonse Balat Mentor On the recommendation of Alphonse Balat, Victor Horta is commissioned for 100000 francs to design a pavilion to house Jef Lambeaux's sculpture "The Human Passions" at the Brussels International Exposition. Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles (1897)
1890/00/00 Leopold II of Belgium Benefactor King Leopold II commissions 136 000 francs to Jef Lambeaux for a 12 by 8 metres (39 ft 26 ft) work of art depicting happiness and the sins of mankind dominated by death and the "negative" passions of mankind such as war, rape and suicide.
1892/00/00 Construction begins on Temple of Human Passions. Horta designed the temple without the wall and bronze doors, serving as a shelter on rainy days and exposing the relief to passers-by.
1896/00/00 The Temple is completed with the facade open, without the wall and bronze doors. Since Horta could not agree to Lambeaux's preference for a gallery wall behind the columns to screen his work, the official opening is delayed. Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles (1897)
1899/10/01 Jef Lambeaux's "The Human Passions" is revealed to the public.
1899/10/04 Under pressure of the public opinion and the authorities, Horta closes the Temple of Human Passions with a wooden barricade. It was left unfinished only three days after inauguration.
1906/00/00 The government responds to the criticisms by requiring Horta close the front of the building with durable materials.
1909/00/00 The front wall of the Temple of Human Passions is constructed.
1910/00/00 The Temple of Human Passions is reopened and remains unfinished.
1967/00/00 King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz of Saudi Arabia begins a 99 year lease of the Temple of Human Passions and East Pavilion of the 1880 National Exhibition (later the Great Mosque of Brussels) to house a museum of Islamic art.

Data »

Particulars for Temple of Human Passions, Cinquantenaire:
Area of Significance Architecture
Sight Category Building
Architectural Style Neoclassical




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