Artists at the MOT

In the 19th and 20th centuries, many painters took to the outdoors with their easel to immortalize landscapes and buildings on canvas. Grimbergen was very accessible to painters and tourists from Brussels: there was a good tram connection, there were numerous inns and they found the peace that they lacked in the city. From this period dates a rich collection of Grimberg landscape paintings. You can read about them in the book "Grimbergen in de kunst" (1992).

The municipality of Grimbergen owns many paintings that depict the Grimbergen landscape and its architectural heritage. Others can be found in private collections. Various reproductions of these paintings were exhibited in the Oyenbrugmolen in the summer of 2018. A year later, paintings of the Prince's Castle were exhibited in the keep. This was the reason for the MOT to photograph those works of art on which the buildings of the museum are depicted. After all, they do not only have an art value, but also a great documentary value. For example, one of the paintings shows the wooden water wheel and the original locks on the Liermolen mill and on another painting the original half-timbered barn at the Tommenmolen mill that has been demolished. The MOT's volunteer photographer took these photographs, which are digitally exhibited here.

Since 2021, Kunstdorp Grimbergen has been inventorying and making accessible all paintings that depict the landscape and heritage of Grimbergen through temporary exhibitions and also online. Below is a selection of our buildings.