Brussels International Exposition (1897)

EXPO Brussels 1897
Exhibition poster by Art Nouveau artist Henri Privat-Livemont
Overview
BIE-class	Universal exposition
Category	Historical Expo
Name	Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles
Building	Paleis der Koloniën
Visitors	7,800,000
Participant(s)
Countries	27
Location
Country	Belgium
City	Brussels
Venue	Jubelpark
Coordinates
Timeline
Opening	May 10, 1897 (1897-05-10)
Closure	November 8, 1897 (1897-11-08)
Universal expositions
Previous	World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
Next	Exposition Universelle (1900) in Paris

The Brussels International Exposition (Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles) of 1897 was a World's fair held in Brussels, Belgium, from May 10, 1897 through November 8, 1897. There were 27 participating countries, and an estimated attendance of 7.8 million people.

The main venues of the fair were the Cinquantenaire Parks and a colonial section at Tervuren showcasing King Leopold II of Belgium's personal property, the Congo Free State. The two exposition sites were linked by a purpose-built tramway.

Colonial exhibit

The Tervuren section was hosted in the Palace of the Colonies (although there was only one colony), designed by Belgian architect Albert-Philippe Aldophe. In the main hall Georges Hobé designed a distinctive wooden Art Nouveau structure to evoke the forest, using Bilinga wood, an African tree. The interior exhibition displayed ethnographic objects, stuffed animals and in the "Hall of the Great Cultures" Congo's most important export products were displayed: coffee, cacao and tobacco. In the park, an example Congolese village was built, where 267 Africans lived through the period of the fair. The success of this exhibition led to the permanent establishment of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in 1898.

Art Nouveau

The primary designers of the fair were among of the Belgian masters of Art Nouveau architecture at the height of the style: Henry van de Velde, Paul Hankar, Gédéon Bordiau, and Gustave Serrurier-Bovy. Henri Privat-Livemont produced posters for the exposition.

There seem to be few physical remnants. The small neo-classical pavilion called the Temple of Human Passions that Victor Horta designed to house a sculptural relief by Jef Lambeaux was completed in time for the fair, but its opening was delayed by disputes until 1899.

Commemoration

• 

  Commemorative stamp and postmark.

• 

  Postcard.

External links

• BIE description (in French; pdf format)
• photos of the Congo display