Belgium is located between Britain, France and Germany, and is known as the "Crossroad of Europe". Although it has a short history of independence and a small territory, it has held many expos, which had greatly enhanced the status of the country and promoted the development of the city.

　　From the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, Belgium hosted eight world expos. Four of them were held in Brussels (1897, 1910, 1935 and 1958). Expo 1897 Brussels was the first world expo held in Brussels, it made people gather together and experience the changing world situation.

　　At the very beginning, organizers decided that the expo would be held at le Parc du Cinquantenaire and Parc de Tervueren, there was not only a road but also a tram between them.

　　Poster of Expo 1897 Brussels (Drawn by Priva Livmont)

　　Official Name: Expo 1897 Brussels

　　Dates: 10/05/1897 - 08/11/1897

　　Category: World Exhibition

　　Theme: Modern Life

　　Official Designation: International Exhibition of Brussels 1897

　　Visitors: 6,000,000

　　Area (ha): 36

　　Participants: 27

　　A late expo appointment

　　People worried about the expo. Not only because of the construction project being delayed by storms, but also the world expo has been held too often in the past decade.

　　Dissenters said,"How could the art and industry in 1897 be different from that of 1888 and 1889? We must have seen everything you would display. you couldn’t have anything new."

　　Mr Jules Simon gave a powerful answer that things are different now. Every decade, the world changes. In the past, progress in production was slow and hard; But now it's much faster. People remains pretty much the same as they were, but the environment they live in is ever changing..

　　Brussels chose to face the difficulty, it merely postponed the opening ceremony from April 24th to May 10th. The Brussels playground which was located in the 50th anniversary park recreates the features of old town Brussels. It is popular with visitors for its 14th-century walls and renaissance doors.

　　A bird's eye view of Brussels playground

　　The art exhibition of antagonism and inclusiveness

　　Two opposing schools of sculpture

　　Just like painting, sculpture also has two opposing schools: realism represented by master Ralph Rambo; The opposite is the aestheticism represented by Victor Rousseau. Aestheticism embodies the noble artistic emotion, expression techniques are more delicate, apply more feminine temperament. The two schools, though opposed, do not attack each other, and there are many good works in both camps.

　　Sculpture by Victor Rousseau: a young man holding a butterfly

　　Ralph Rambo: Human passion

　　There is an elegant greco-roman pavilion on the left of the 50th anniversary park that has been preserved for a long time. The pavilion displays a marble relief of the sculptor Ralph Rambo 's famous work "Human Passion". It took Mr. Rambo ten years to finish the work. Rambo is the most representative artist of Belgian sculpture, this work is not only an ode of his art career, but also an ode of Belgian sculpture.

　　Ralph Rambo: Human passion

　　Finally, a real exhibition

　　Finally, there is an official exhibition that could put the paintings in a generous row instead of the usual pile up paintings which used to be called a grocery market. After a strict review by the jury, only 450 works were selected."Immigration" is one of the rare historical paintings in world expos, it depicts a page of social reality with real and emotional touch.

　　Lyle Mons: Immigration

　　The Colonial Exhibition of Delphi

　　Belgium also set up a separate "Colonial Exhibition" in Delphi to show its colonial power,. There were folk villages, ethnographic exhibits, ivory carvings and panoramic views of Congo.

　　Wild style human race exhibition

　　The artist Paul onkar was appointed by the government to be the interior decorator of the historical pavilion. He drew on local materials to make the design of the hall full of exotic flavor. He drew inspiration from exotic beasts, flowers and plants, and even the idols worshipped by black people, and painted them into patterns. The personality of his design is bright and slightly wild which shows his talent and imagination.

　　Race pavilion designed by Paul Onkar

　　Finely crafted ivory carving

　　There were more than fifty carvings of ivory in the Honor Pavilion, some gold and silver plated, some enamel and precious stones plated. The exhibition was the idea of EdmundVan Buren, the secretary of Belgium and Congo.

　　Ivory carving in Honor Pavilion

　　Ivory is one of Congo's most valuable products, and the exhibits were provided free of charge by the government. Carefully carved by Belgian sculptors, the works occupied an entire exhibition hall. The main works were "Christ" by Constantine Meunier,"Soul" by Paul de Vigne,"Small Allegro" by Jules Dylan and so on.

　　Promote Modern Aesthetic

　　In addition, a few adornment of Congo exhibition turned out to be the accidental motive force that promotes modern aesthetic appreciation.

　　The tapestry was designed by Isidore de Rudey and made by Elena de Rudey. Eight tapestries show: barbarism, civilization, slavery, freedom, polygamy, family, fetishism, Christianity.

　　"Materialistic"

　　Designed by Isidore de Rudey and made by Elena de Rudey

　　There was also Philip Wolfe's swan vase.

　　"Swan Vase"

　　The Congo exhibition not only expanded the market for trade, but also provided new materials for art. Colonial art was pristine and pure, it provided an unexpected spur to the modern aesthetic.

　　Whoever saw the Expo 1897 Brussels was deeply impressed by the exhibition of Delphi colony."The layout is exquisite, elegant and tasteful, and the overall decoration is unique.-- 1897 " Art and Decoration Magazine"

　　Although the Expo 1897 Brussels was postponed, it was still diversely wonderful. It represented new forms of art, and the aesthetic extends to all over the world.