Brussels International 1910

1910 Brussels
1910 Brussels
	Poster for the World Fair of 1910 in Brussels
Overview
BIE-class	Universal exposition
Category	Historical Expo
Name	Exposition Universelle et Internationale
Area	88 hectares (220 acres)
Visitors	13,000,000
Participant(s)
Countries	26[citation needed]
Location
Country	Belgium
City	Brussels
Venue	Solbosch, Cinquantenaire, Tervuren
Coordinates	50°48′46.4″N 4°22′49.8″E / 50.812889°N 4.380500°E
Timeline
Opening	23 April 1910
Closure	1 November 1910
Universal expositions
Previous	Milan International (1906) in Milan
Next	Esposizione internazionale dell'industria e del lavoro in Turin

The Brussels International Exposition (French: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles, Dutch: Wereldtentoonstelling te Brussel) of 1910 was a World's fair held in Brussels, Belgium, from 23 April to 1 November 1910.^[1] This was just thirteen years after Brussels' previous World's fair. It received 13 million visitors, covered 88 hectares (220 acres) and lost 100,000 Belgian Francs.^[2]

Location[]

The grounds and buildings were partly located around the Solbosch district (in the City of Brussels' southern extension), and partly in the Cinquantenaire Park (a remainder of the 1897 World's Fair), where the fine art's exhibition took place. The colonial exhibition was hosted in the newly built [fr], today's Royal Museum for Central Africa, in the suburb of Tervuren. Another major site for the exhibition was the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg in central Brussels, although this site was largely demolished during the post-war construction process of Brusselisation.

Map of the 1910 Brussels Exhibition

Country participation[]

There were 26 participating countries: Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France,^[3] Germany (whose Attaché des Reichskommissars was Heinrich Albert),^[4] Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Ottoman Empire, Persia (Iran), Peru, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, Russia, and Spain.

The Dutch and German pavilions displayed the decorative arts and architecture of their home country. The Italian pavilion illustrated the Italian Renaissance. The Belgian pavilion was represented through the cities of Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and Liège.

Exhibits[]

The exhibition was dedicated to science, the arts, industry and trade. The fine art's section included modern art loaned by the French including three works each by Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin and Auguste Renoir, as well as two works by Henri Matisse.^[3] Painters who participated included the Belgian Aloïs Boudry who won a silver medal, and the French Adrien Karbowsky.

During the exhibition, the altarpiece of St. John Berchman's Church was presented. The Belgian engineer [fr] also exhibited his new Type 10 pacific locomotive.

Fire[]

There was a big fire on 14 and 15 August which gutted several pavilions in the Solbosch part of the exhibition. Part of the Belgian and French sections were destroyed, but the worst hit was the English section. After the fire, some destroyed parts were rebuilt at a rapid pace. This event attracted the attention of the public and the organisers were able to successfully use it for the promotion of the exhibition.^[5]^[6]