Katana VentraIP

La Libre Esthétique

La Libre Esthétique (French; "The Free Aesthetics") was an artistic society founded in 1893 in Brussels, Belgium to continue the efforts of the artists' group Les XX dissolved the same year. To reduce conflicts between artists invited or excluded, artists were no longer admitted to the society, thus all exhibitors were now invited.

The first annual exhibition was opened on 14 February 1894, and the exhibition of 1914 was the last: a year later German troops had occupied Belgium, Brussels included.

First exhibition, 17 February - 15 March 1894

Madeleine Octave Maus: Trente années de lutte pour l'art, Librairie L'Oiseau bleu, Bruxelles 1926; reprinted by Éditions Lebeer Hossmann, Bruxelles 1980

Les XX & La Libre Esthétique: Honderd jaar later/Cent ans après, Brussels 1993 no ISBN