Main altar of the Vatican Church, Brussels World's Expo 1958
Interior of the Vatican Cathedral in Brussels. Photo from: Art d’Église 103, 1958, p. 46
The altar in front of the dark choir wall in Liebfrauen immediately catches the eye as you ascend to the upper church, even though the deconsecrated church lacks burning candles and even though the "Fall of the Angels" ("Engelsturz") installation has been added behind the canopy.In the Vatican church at the 1958 Brussels Expo, the altar table, cross, and canopy stood before a bright chancel wall toward which the nave narrowed, illuminated by glass walls lining the sides.
With the exception of the tabernacle, the entire altar furnishings—including the candlesticks, ambos, and pews—were crafted by Rhenish artists for the Vatican Pavilion. Following the end of the World's Fair, they were handed over to the newly established Diocese of Essen, which provided them to the new Church of Our Lady for a nominal fee.
Regarding the Brussels church, it had been noted in 1958 that it was exemplary as a liturgical building: ‘In the spacious church, the altar is the liturgical, spiritual, artistic, and optical center. It has been moved toward the people, who stand in direct, unconstrained connection with it.’ (Hugo Schnell)
In Duisburg, the freestanding altar platform in the sanctuary was three steps higher than in Brussels. The altar was now positioned in the dark choir of a traditional church with a linear alignment leading from the entrance toward the altar, toward the Holy of Holies.
After all, following the Second Vatican Council, the altar of Liebfrauen was more easily converted into a freestanding altar (Volksaltar) than in many other Catholic churches with a traditional high altar. The tabernacle was moved away from the main altar and placed on an altar in the side aisle; the priest no longer celebrated Mass with his back to the people, but facing the congregation.
That the Brussels Altarpiece can have an inspiring effect on contemporary artists is shown by Werner Koch’s 'Fall of the Angels', which the artist created for an exhibition in 2019 and subsequently donated to the church.
Werner Koch „Fall of the angels [Engelsturz]“, 2018
Design for an Object of 12 Figures
Photo: Thomas Gaedtke
Contemporary appreciations:
L'Art d'Eglise, N.103, Civitas_Dei, Bruges 1958.
Schmitz van Vorst, Josef: Im Geiste der Weltkirche. Der Beitrag des Heiligen Stuhls zur Brüsseler Ausstellung, in: FAZ no. 188, August 16th, 1958 (AEK, CR II 27.24,10/13-16).
Schnell, Hugo: Christliche Kunst in Brüssel und Salzburg, in: Das Münster, 9/10, 1958, p. 405-426.
