Kurt Van Eeghem

Speaker
Dutch
Photo of Kurt Van Eeghem

Who is Kurt Van Eeghem?  

Born in Bruges, trained at Studio Herman Teirlinck and the Theater School Amsterdam. Made thousands of radio and television broadcasts and was rewarded for this with prizes such as 'Gouden Ogen' and the 'H van Humo'. The public also voted him several times as the most competent media man. He played theater in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, appeared in serials and films. He presented countless cabaret performances, wrote hundreds of sketches in addition to papers and articles for newspapers and magazines. Eight of his books were published. He is a sought-after presenter, moderator and keynote speaker.

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    Ostend in the Belle Epoque

    The new book 'Ostend in the Belle Epoque' by Kurt Van Eeghem will be available in stores in mid-November. It is a dazzling story about 'La Reine des Plages', the Palace Hotels, the Kursaal, the many competitions and exhibitions, the racecourse and the renowned gastronomy.  

    No seaside resort in the world had as many visitors of noble descent as Ostend. It was their place to be every summer. From May to the end of September, Ostend turned into the Cultural Capital of the World. The elite were brought directly to the seaside resort in luxurious trains from all over Europe. The mail boats moored nearby for those coming from America or England.  

    Princes from Saint Petersburg and Tehran, English high society, bankers and rentiers from Boston and New York, spa guests from Berlin, Vienna and Paris, no one wanted to miss the annual appointment. 

    The story of Ostend between 1860 and 1914 is like a fairy tale, but it ended in a fizzle when the 'Great War' broke out. Cannes and Nice conquered the chic clientele in the interwar period.

    Master storyteller Kurt Van Eeghem delved into thousands of newspapers and documents, unearthed the most interesting details and was amazed and amazed again and again. Ostend had a gigantic symphonic orchestra, with which world stars loved to perform, this part of the story alone provides unique and sparkling details. For example, the tenor Enrico Caruso, then the most expensive and best-known artist in the world, performed 16 times at the Kursaal, only once in Brussels. That says it all, Ostend was simply the top.  

    Van Eeghem takes us through exceptional buildings and places, he describes the most wonderful exploits of Leopold I and Leopold II and lets us dream of wonderful holiday days in a city 'that never slept'. He illustrates his story with unique images that show the unimaginable opulence of the spa.

    Čiurlionis, the fortunes of a genius artist

    In 2022, the book 'Čiurlionis, the fortunes of a genius artist' was published, Kurt Van Eeghem's fascinating search for this great innovator in modern arts who lived from 1875 to 1911.

    During that short existence, Čiurlionis literally worked himself to death. He was driven by art, painted and composed the most amazing works with which he caused a sensation in art cities such as Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, London and Munich. After his early death - the hard worker died completely exhausted in a small clinic for the mentally ill just outside Warsaw - wars and political upheavals caused him to become completely forgotten. Only after 1991, when the Soviets were expelled from his native Lithuania, did his star shine again. Exhibitions in Paris, Milan, Ghent, London and soon Tokyo, among others, show the work of an artist who was ahead of his time. The synesthete – he expressed himself in various art forms – was exceptionally well educated and followed a very idiosyncratic path that took him beyond the boundaries of what is known. He was the first European artist to make abstract paintings, he painted with notes and composed with colors. His works were created during an oversensitive youth and after a difficult journey through conservatories and academies, through paths full of contact disorders and breakdowns, but also full of love and beauty.

    Van Eeghem talks about Čiurlionis and about his time, that special period around World War I that gave little Lithuania more suffering than joy. We are introduced to an artist who, like Van Gogh and Munck, like Stravinsky and Schönberg, shaped art in the twentieth century. The story is illustrated with images and sound.