Wallonia | Living in Wallonia | Art of living

A Land of Art and culture

For many centuries, Wallonia has played an integral role in Europe's major cultural movements. It has enriched these movements with its own sensitivity and in some genres and periods, has even helped them achieve new, unanimously recognised levels of excellence .

Wallonia's outstanding tradition in the musical domain can be seen as far back as the 9th century, however it was not until the Renaissance period in the 20th century that it really reached its peak with great names such as Johannes Ciconia, Josquin, Dufay, Roland de Lassus, Gossec, Grétry, Gresnick, César Franck, Guillaume Lekeu, Adolphe Sax (father of the saxophone).
Almost everyone knows of the internationally acclaimed musician Eugène Ysaye, who founded a prestigious international violin competition in 1937 which was later to become the violin section of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.
The sound of classical music still resonates throughout the region today, and is very much alive in its acclaimed conservatories and academies. The talents produced in establishments such as the Royal Opera of Wallonia and the Charleroi/danses dance company enjoy a reputation that extends well beyond our borders.

Jazz is another very popular style of music in Wallonia today. We need only mention Guy Cabais, Phil Abraham, Nathalie Loriers, Philippe Catherine, Fred & the Healers. Each year, the town of Gouvey also hosts the Gaume jazz festival, much beloved by jazz connoisseurs.

When it comes to painting, Wallonia has left its mark on every artistic trend within the European heritage of painting. Roger De la Pasture and Lambert Lombard in the 15th and 16th centuries, romantics such as Antoine Wiertz in the 19th century, engravers such as Félicien Rops, and realists such as Pierre Paulus who has produced many fine paintings of industrial Wallonia in the 20th century.

Illustrated by key figures such as Jean Ransy, Pol Bury and of course, René Magritte and Paul Delvaux, Wallonia has been proven an especially fertile breeding ground for the development of surrealism. Today, the works of Jean-Michel Folon have attracted close attention from abroad.
Staying with graphic arts, the pioneering role played by Wallonia in advancing the art of the comic strip cannot be ignored, and is illustrated in publications such as the Journal de Spirou as well as in the Marcinelle school of Belgian cartoonists, with its founding personalities Jijé and Franquin.

With acclaimed figures such as Constantin Meunier and Félix Roulinallonia, Wallonia has also surpassed itself in the area of sculpture. This can also be seen in the region's ongoing tradition of master craftsmen, illustrated in the art of ceramics at Andenne, copperware at the Cité des Copères works, pewter crafted in Huy, and crystal ware produced at Val SaintLambert de Seraing, one of the region's crowning jewels on the international stage.

From the Cantilène de Sainte Eulalie (first written literature in French) to the acclaimed grammarians Maurice Grevisse and Joseph Hanse, Wallonia has also contributed extensively the establishment and illustration of the French language.
To take an arbitrary selection of writers and poets, we have the romantic Octave Pirmez, the symbolist Albert Mockel, the regionalists Jean Tousseul and Arthur Masson, the surrealists Achille Chavée and Henri Michaux as well as other key figures such as Marcel Thiry, Charles Plisnier, Maurice Carême, Georges Simenon and moving on to today, Pierre Mertens, Amélie Nothomb, Nicolas Ancion and so on.

Finally, Wallonia cinema has achieved world acclaim thanks to directors such as Jean-Jacques Andrien, Benoît Mariage, Gérard Corbiau,Alain Berliner , Jaco VanDormael, the Dardenne brothers and actors such as Benoît Poelvoorde, Pascal Duquenne, Marie Gillain, Emilie Dequenne, Natacha Regnier, Cécile de France and so on.

gastronomic wallonia

As a region that both produces and enjoys good food, the delicatessen meats of Wallonia, served at the tables of roman emperors in former times, originate from the Gallic forests and plains of Wallonia (Ardennes ham, Aubel produce, not to mention Upigny foie gras).

From its inexhaustible and highly beneficial sources, Wallonia has preserved a tradition of thermal baths and a tremendous variety of drinking waters, with the Spa and Chaudfontaine brands being the most well known.

Its generous prairies and lush plateaus produce a wide range of cheeses, from the strong Herve variety to the most delicate unpasteurised cheeses.

The region's fertile fields produce the main ingredients used in its national beers, of which there are there are countless different types: Dark bock beers, light bock beers, wheat beers, amber beers, artisan beers and abbey beers. Of the six varieties of Trappist beer, a beer of reputed divine origin rigorously monitored by wise Trappist monks, three varieties are brewed in Wallonia: Chimay, Rochefort and Orval. Our alcohols (Pèket des Houilleux - famous belgian grain alcohol embibed in former times by workers returning from the mines) and spirits (Biercée distillery) also enjoy a reputation that extends well beyond our borders.

However Wallonia is also a region renowned for its quality cattle breeding, drawing on the patient expertise of previous generations to select only be best breeds to produce the highest quality meat. Meats such as Belgian Blue Beef are our greatest ambassadors for the region.
For the finer palette, the Wallonia region also excels in the area of sweeter delicacies. With its thousands of different hues and types, master patissiers Jacques and Jean Galler have raised our traditional chocolate to the status of chef-d’œuvre. Today, artisan chocolatiers continuously attempt to outdo each other in the sheer brilliance and imagination of their passion for chocolate.