(AGENPARL) – mer 05 marzo 2025 Paris Fashion Week 2025, Delvaux, Saul Steinberg, The Americans (1958) © The Saul Steinberg Foundation SABAM Belgium, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, photo Benoit Florencon_3
Paris Fashion Week 2025, Delvaux, Saul Steinberg, The Americans (1958) © The Saul Steinberg Foundation SABAM Belgium, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, photo Benoit Florencon_3
Press Release [05/03/25]
A masterpiece from the Royal Museums exceptionally loaned to Delvaux for Paris Fashion Week
The Americans, a major work by Saul Steinberg, exceptionally on loan from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium to one of its principal partner, the Maison Delvaux, will be exhibited at Paris Fashion Week, Place Vendôme, from March 5 to 10, 2025.
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) have granted Maison Delvaux an exceptional loan of 3 parts of a major work from their collection: The Americans by Saul Steinberg (1914-1999). This impressive mural, over 70 meters long in all, was commissioned for the American Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. The Americans spans 8 series of thematic collage panels, and is considered the high point of Saul Steinberg's work.??
For five days, Maison Delvaux will be exhibiting a fragment of The Americans, putting the work back into a configuration reminiscent of its creation, in an installation-performance in which visitors will be the protagonists. This presentation’s genesis the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, for which the Brillant de la Maison bag was created. The scenography has been designed around Steinberg's work, which blends in with the decor of the Place Vendôme townhouse housing Delvaux's new collection.
For this unique loan, Delvaux took part in the restoration of the 3 series of panels, which have now been restored to their former glory. After Fashion Week, they will be repatriated to Brussels for public viewing at the RMFAB from summer 2025.??
A masterpiece??
In The Americans, a unique and masterful work, Saul Steinberg gives free rein to his creativity with an impressive collage inspired by the American way of life.??
Born in Romania in 1914 and died in New York in 1999, Saul Steinberg began studying architecture in Milan in 1932 before emigrating to the United States. For 60 years, his talent illustrated the pages and covers of The New Yorker. In addition to his work as a cartoonist, Saul Steinberg was also an immense propagandist, caricaturist, illustrator, graphic artist, muralist, fashion and advertising designer, set designer, tireless picture-book creator and gallery artist.??
A masterpiece by Saul Steinberg, the monumental collage The Americans was acquired by the Belgian state after the closure of the Expo Universelle, and subsequently joined the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB). ?
The Royal Museums and Delvaux: a shared history and excellence
The RMFAB and Delvaux have developed a shared history that runs parallel to the history of Belgium. Today, in a meaningful partnership, the two institutions unite around shared values: excellence, tradition and innovation. The links between the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and Delvaux are legion, starting with the notion of heritage and excellence « à la belge» .The Delvaux brand was created in 1829, a year before Belgian independence, while the MRBAB became a National Museum a few years later. ?
From an art-historical point of view, Saul Steinberg's work can also be considered to have rediscovered, after so many years, its original vocation. Tailor-made for the spaces of the impressive American pavilion, The Americans was a commission designed to be admired by thousands of visitors. For the duration of the World's Fair, Vogue magazine orchestrated daily fashion shows in the heart of this open space. The characters and set of The Americans form the luxurious backdrop to these shows, created to symbolize the American way of life in all its splendor.??
This loan is in line with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium's declared desire to form specific, project-based partnerships with leading players in order to enhance the prestigious federal collections.
Museum conditions respected to the letter for a unique collaboration
This unique and extremely rare loan can be explained by the museum conditions scrupulously met for this event: careful transport precautions, respect for a stable and controlled climate and humidity level, limited luminosity, distancing measures, etc. The ensemble from the RMFAB will be exhibited in conditions identical to those in a museum, which is a primordial criterion when accepting a loan.
Press Pictures (https://kmskbe.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/Down/Eo3D8LPdqJ1OrBEvHlwMJV4BbLIvLIWRwY9M869TyPuv4w?e=NhbTIl)
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium 3 rue de la Régence – 1000 Brussels