Joffrey Liénart: Gustave Hagemans (1830-1908) : a new perspective on a Belgian collector and politician.

Gustave Hagemans’s passion for art and antiques is still visible in the showcases of the Art and History Museum of the Cinquantenaire. When he sold his entire collection to the Belgian State in 1861, there were around 1.500 pieces, spanning from classical Antiquity to the Renaissance, which were shown to the public. His personal archives, now accessible thanks to a new inventory, enable us to understand his collecting habits and provide a more detailed account of his private life.

Gustave Hagemans may be a forgotten personality from the 19th century, yet he was a key figure in Belgian archaeology and developed a large academic network of colleagues which allowed him to introduce our scholarly community to the rest of European research. Making the most of a considerable fortune, he was a young man when he began this impressive collection and travelled around Europe, Africa and the Middle East to buy the numerous artefacts he would include in his personal cabinet of curiosities. "The lady of Brussels" is one of his masterpieces. (http://www.kmkg-mrah.be/lady-brussels) 

But when his first wife died in 1860, deeply affected, he sold his entire collection at a ridiculous price, probably as a means to grieve in his own way. He then became a liberal Representative for the district of Chimay for 12 years, until an extraordinary personal bankruptcy disrupted his life and relationships. In his final years, Gustave Hagemans slowly withdrew from society and died in Waterloo amidst general indifference.

His inventoried archives constitute a point of entry to explore the wealthy life of a 19th century gentleman.
You can find the inventory here : http://www.kmkg-mrah.be/archives

In the press : https://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20200127_01436933/inventaire-gustave-hagemans

This painting was made by Gustave Hagemans for his daugther Adrienne in 1903. There is a note on the back  : « Traduction de l'horoscope ci-contre en hiéroglyphes égyptiens. L'an 1903 le 2 du mois de mai a dédié le scribe Hagemans à sa fille chérie Hagemans - c'est son prénom - le verset 27 tiré des [pr]overbes de Salomon roi, chapitre 31 qui dit : 'Elle examine le train de la maison et elle ne mange point le pain de la paresse.' - Indications. Près de la jeune fille debout qui représente Adrienne, se lit son prénom. Elle regarde la table aux provisions chargée de viande, de volaille, de vins, de vaisselle, de plantes et de fleurs, et satisfaite, elle dit : "Très bien arrangé". Près du fauteuil est écrit, selon l'usage égyptien, le nom de l'objet représenté le mot chaise est dessous pour indiquer qu'elle n'est pas paresseuse, elle ne s'y repose pas. Derrière elle, on voit un chat accroupi devant une jatte de lait avec le mot : le joli petit chat Mimine. Sur la droite : en haut, bonheur. En dessous, joie. Sur la colonne de gauche, en haut : santé ; en bas : prospérité. Sur chaque colonne : pour ton nom, pour toi. Près de l'oeil droit divin : bonheur. Près de de l'oeil gauche divin : le dieu bon par excellence sous le soleil, le divin scarabée soleil. »  ((c) RMAH, fonds Gustave Hagemans, n° 54.)