Which Famous Person Takes Your Fancy? Get a Plaster Cast Made in Brussels!

Tucked away in the corner of a courtyard in the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels is a workshop where a handful of volunteers are chiselling, smoothing and perfecting all sorts of plaster casts. Whether you want a bust of Beethoven, the head of Voltaire or your very own copy of Michelangelo’s David, you can put in an order.

The plaster-casting workshop, which belongs to the Royal Museums of Art and History, was set up during the 19th century and holds around 4,000 moulds of sculptures dating from prehistoric times to the 18th century. They were originally made during a time when it wasn’t as easy and affordable to travel as it is today, and so craftsmen went to see the famous artworks of other countries, made moulds based on the originals and then produced plaster casts that could be viewed by a wider public in Brussels.

The moulds are now piled on top of each other on shelves from floor to ceiling row after row. Some of the moulds are broken, as are many of the original plaster casts. One of the volunteers explained to me that the damage happened in the 1930s when the moulds and casts were moved by prisoners from the main exhibition space to their current location.

Admittedly the hours aren’t too convenient for a visit (9.30am-noon and 1.30pm to 4pm Tuesday-Friday), but if you’re in the area and have a spare half-hour or so, it’s definitely worth popping in. The entrance is filled with replica statues and busts, which lead through to the storage rooms and the actual workshop. There’s also a small room with catalogues of their moulds in case you’re tempted to place an order.