Cercle Artistique - Maison de la Laïcité - Tournai

The Cercle Artistique building - now Maison de la Laïcité - on rue des Clarisses was designed by the architect Georges De Porre (1859-1926).

It was inaugurated in 1888, although its facade dates from 1900.

The city of the Five Towers experienced an exceptional boom in the second half of the 19th century . Architects, engineers and artists turned it into a dynamic city, characterized by a determination to conquer the future.
By creating the Cercle Artistique , painters and sculptors found a place where they could express themselves . Founded in 1757, the Académie des Beaux-arts was the driving force behind the project, sending its best students - Lecreux, Sauvage, Hennequin Haghe, Gallait, Houzé, Dutrieux, Frison, Hennebicq, Decraene, Devaux, Vasseur and Pion - to confront their colleagues from other horizons.

From the beginning, the new association asserted itself and announced an exhibition for September. It was a formidable challenge, if only in terms of the premises, the Salle des Conférences in an outbuilding of the town hall "dressed" with a few curtains to hide the ailments as best as possible.

However, the problems related to the lack of exhibition space became more pressing. Especially since the 1887 exhibition was surrounded by fierce controversy. In addition, Hyppolite Leroy's "Héro" , a full nude, raised eyebrows, including those of the critic of the Courrier de l'Escaut, who said that "he would not set foot in the Halle as long as this plaster cast was around". Yet it was accepted.

The Cercle had to find a permanent solution: the idea was born in 1887 and was quickly put into practice with the Cercler Artistique...

Willem Vandenameele