Lode Craeybeckx, mayor of Antwerp, instigated the
foundation of an open air museum for sculpture in the Middelheim Park. Since
1951 this museum is located in the grounds of the former Middelheim Estate,
which since 1910 has been part of the Nachtegalenpark (literally: Nightingale
Park) that also comprises of the Vogelenzangpark (Bird Song Park) and Park den
Brandt (Tinder Park). The former Middelheim Estate is comprised of a northern
(Middelheim-Laag) and a southern (Middelheim-Hoog) section separated by a long avenue. The Manor house is located along
this central avenue on a moated site. The classicist French architect Barnabé Guinard (1734-1805) is said to have
designed the building that sits on medieval footings of a castle keep that once
stood here.
Within the natural surroundings of the park the aim
was to give visitors an impression of modern sculpture through the decades. At
its conception the Middelheim Sculpture Park was a one of a kind with its free
admission and overall recreational character thus integrating a people's park
with a cultural exhibition. The various sculptures are spread across the park
with temporary exhibits in the Floraliën (a flower garden) and the Braem
Pavilion.
left: Heracles the archer by Bourdelle (1909) middle:
Middelheim Manor right: Misconceivable by Erwin Wurm (2010).
left: Dialogue by Albert Szukalski (1974) middle: The Black
Sheep by Johan Muyle (2010) right: Modelhäuser Typ Bomarzo by Timm Ulrichs
(2001).
left: Mantis by Germaine Richier (1946) middle: Lust
for Life by Hildo Krop (1952) right: Beam Drop Antwerp by Chris Burden (2009).
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