Musée des Aigles Modernes 14

This painting is based on a black-and-white photograph of the fictional “Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles, Section XIXème siècle,” a conceptual installation by Marcel Broodthaers in his home-studio at 30 rue de la Pépinière, Brussels, in 1968. Rather than a conventional exhibition, it served as institutional critique—an ironic, poetic space that subverted the authority of the museum and questioned the value of the art object. Structured in bureaucratic departments, it contained no originals, only reproductions charged with cultural significance.

Formally, the work draws influence from neo-expressionism, particularly Anselm Kiefer—not for his materials but his evocation of historical memory through empty architectural settings and philosophical themes. The emotive intensity and return to figuration typical of neo-expressionism frame these concerns.

The painting continues a lineage of artists who created their own museums to critique institutional norms, referencing Duchamp’s «Boîte-en-valise» (1935–1941), Filliou’s «Galerie légitime» (1962–1968), and Broodthaers’ own «Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles» (1968–1972).

In 2009, Davis Lisboa founded the Davis Museum, whose “Paintings Section” includes portraits of these artists, still lifes inspired by the «Boîte-en-valise» and the «Galerie légitime,» and interior scenes based on Broodthaers’ museum.