Variations

In 2019 Villa Vauban once again renews its concept of a “museum for all”. Under the title “Variations”, a colourful selection from the museum’s collections will be on display with around 70 paintings, sculptures, graphics and drawings from the 17th to the 21st century. The unusual presentation of the works as well as a multitude of educational offers make this exhibition accessible to everyone.

Among the exhibited works, several new acquisitions stand out, as well as a donation by the Amis des Musées Luxembourg: two monochrome portraits of the 17th-century Antwerp painter Abraham van Diepenbeeck.The exhibition is dedicated to various exciting questions about art history and artistic techniques: How were engravings or grisailles made after a painting? How can forgeries of classical works of art be identified? Why and how did the artists make sketches or drawings before painting their pictures? At the same time, several thematic ensembles await the visitor: i.a. 19th-century portraits of bourgeois citizens by Karl von Pidoll and Jean-Baptiste Fresez, landscapes and seascapes (including Canaletto, Dagnan and Calame) as well as a “Children’s Museum” with the family portraits of the Impressionist painter Corneille Lentz (1879-1937).

Like the two previous editions, the new Museum for all is based on the concept of accessibility and inclusion. Thus, visitors can discover the exhibits in their own way, according to their motor or cognitive abilities. Special installations provide an original and interactive approach to art: hands-on sculptures and tactile models of some paintings, multilingual and plain language information materials, explanatory films... The disguises provided and a photo booth enable the public to transform themselves into the protagonists of a work of art. A mobile app offers additional information on the artworks.