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106 Route 10. BRUSSELS. Royal Museums:
advocates may be seen in consultation with their clients, has an
interior height of 320 ft. and, with its flights of steps and galleries,
an area of about 4300 sq. yds. In the anteroom on the right de-
bouches the flight of steps (171) ascending from the Rue des Mi-
nimes. The court-rooms are accessible to the public from the
galleries. Apart from the rich oaken or marble lining of their walls
they are destitute of artistic embellishment. The effective group
of Justice between Law and Clemency, by Jul. Dillens (d. 1904),
in the N. gallery, is to be reproduced in marble. The finest court-
rooms are the Salle de la Cour de Cassation, in the N.E. wing, and
the Salle des Séances Solennelies, in the N.W. wing. The balcony of
the anteroom to the latter commands a fine view of the lower part
of Brussels. — Ascent of the dome, see p. 97.
The broad Rue des Quatre-Bras, running to the S.E. from the
Place Poelaert, joins the Boulevard de Waterloo opposite the Avenue
Louise (p. 142).
Tramways Nos. 2 (5) and 8 on p. 93 and the Bourse-Place Stéphanie
line of the Chemins de Fer Economiques (p. 94).
b. The Royal Museums and Library.
Opposite the Palais du Comte de Flandre, at the beginning of
the Rue de la Régence (pp. 100, 103), rises the
Palais des Beaux-Arts (P1.D,4), built in 1875-814, in the class-
ical style, by Alph. Balat. The building was originally intended
for various artistic purposes, but in 1887 it was arranged for the
reception of the royal collections of sculpture and old paintings.
The central portion, with three portals, is embellished by four
massive granite columns with bronze bases and capitals. On the
tops of the columns are four colossal figures, representing Music,
Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting, by De Groot. In the medal-
lions above the portals are three bronze busts: Rubens (in the centre;
by Van Rasbourgh), Jean de Boulogne (by Cuypers), and Jan van
Ruysbroeck (see p. 128; by Bouré), and over the windows are two
marble reliefs, Industrial Art and Music, by Brunin and Vingotte.
— In front of each of the wings stands an allegorical group in bronze:
on the left, Instruction in Art, by C. van der Stappen (comp. p. xxvii);
on the right, Triumph of Art, by P. de Vigne. —The S. lateral fagade
also (reached through the garden-door No. 3bis) is adorned with
bronze sculptures, placed upon the balustrade of the projecting
terrace and representing Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Spanish,
French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Flemish Art. The figures of
Flemish and German Art are by Jul. Dillens. The gilded Genius
on the dome is by De Groot (comp. p. 145). — Adm., see p. 97.
The VzstrsuLxE contains marble sculptures by L. Godecharle and
busts of eminent persons. At the end to the left is the Escalier de
la Diane, and at the end to the right is the Escalier du Narcisse,
ascending to Room IV and Room YI respectively of the picture- |
