“Melancholy: Sign of a refined heart and elevated mind” (from “Dictionary of Accepted Ideas”, Gustave Flaubert).

A new exhibition by the Boghossian Foundation at Villa Empain in Brussels explores the temperament, also known as black bile, acedia or spleen, which has inspired some of the world’s greatest artists. Featuring seventy artworks, including paintings by Giorgio de Chirico, sculptures by Alberto Giacometti and Claudio Parmiggiani alongside self-portraits by Martin Kippenberger and Joseph Beuys, the show examines the origins and manifestations of melancholia – known in both the East and the West since the times of Ancient Greece – and invites the viewers to explore its representations through a dialogue between modern and contemporary art that spans over more than 150 years.

A series of installations commissioned for this occasion such as Pascal Convert’s library of crystallized books or “Animitas” by Christian Boltanski are presented in the exhibition, which also has a special focus on works by Belgian (Léon Spilliaert, Constant Permeke, Paul Delvaux, Jef Geys, Geert Goiris and the collective KRJST Studio) and Arab artists (Farah Atassi, Manal Al Dowayan, Etel Adnan, Marwan, and Lamia Ziadé).

Nostalgia of faraway places or bygone times, loneliness, a feeling of loss, the manifestation of despondency and a lack of will – the facets of melancholia are manifold. The exhibition curated by Louma Salamé aims to provide a broad, comprehensive perspective through six main thematic chapters: Lost Paradise, Melancholia, Ruins, Passing Time, Solitude, and Absence. Extremely poetic and visually striking.

Opening image: Samuel Yal, Dissolution, 2004