Design for the Everard t'Serclaes Monument

This sketch was made by Julien Dillens (1849 – 1904), a Belgian sculptor who also made the rest of the monument. It was made in preparation for the production of one of the three reliefs on the Everard t’ Serclaes Monument. This is probably Dillens’ best known work.

The Everard t’Serclaes Monument

This monument – a real attraction – is located at the corner of rue Charles Buls and the Grand Place. It was inaugurated in 1902 and replaced in 2016 by a bronze copy of the original monument.

It depicts a dying Everard t’Serclaes in the foreground and three superimposed bas-reliefs in the background. They depict, successively:

• the liberation of Brussels
• the subsequent joyous entry of Joanna of Brabant
• the destruction of Gaasbeek Castle which was an act of revenge by the people of Brussels for the attack on t’Serclaes.

The monument is best known for its reclining figure that people rub as it is said to bring good luck. The original monument was transferred to the Ogivale Hall in the City Hall in 2016. It now hangs next to the plaster model that Dillens presented to the Brussels City Council in 1898.

Why did we include this work in our collections?

• To complete the collection. In 2016, the original sculpture was replaced by a copy, so the original version and Dillens’ model were already part of the Museum’s collection.
• This work has come into the Museum’s possession thanks to a donation from Mr Pascal Thivillon in 2018.

Would you like to know more about this acquisition? Come and visit the museum to see it with your won eyes. You can also find more details about the work itself in the inventory sheet here available.