House of European History - Online Collection

    Wereldtentoonstelling Brussel 1958
    Brussels World Fair 1958

    Artist / Maker
    Date
    Production: 1957
    Object Name
    posters
    Inventory Number
    C.2015.094.116
    Physical Description
    The poster is divided in two parts. The main part at the top shows the Atomium in yellow, gold and silver against a purple background. There are faint outlines of some buildings on the sides of the poster, as well as small images of visitors. The bottom part is a black band, with the title in white, light purple and yellow. The poster is in excellent condition.
    Content Description
    The organisers of the 1958 Brussels World Fair published several posters to advertise the event worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of copies were issued and in several (mostly eight) languages. Many of these posters often depict symbolic figures, like the fair’s logo, or its main monuments. This one is signed by the graphic designer D’Hooghe, who remains unknown. It represents the Atomium, the Fair’s flagship monument, which eventually became one of the most universally recognised symbols of Belgium’s capital city. The Atomium symbolises the hopes for modernity and progress of the post-war period and, in particular, the faith in nuclear energy.
    Keywords
    ExhibitionsLandmarksFuturistic
    Exhibition Theme
    -> 9. When walls talk! Posters. Promotion, propaganda and protest (not on display)
    Material / Technique
    Color lithograph on paper
    Dimensions
    H x W 90,40 x 61,50 cm
    Place
    Place of origin: BelgiumProduction Place: Belgium
    Curator’s Note
    The first universal exhibition after the Second World War, Expo 58 in Brussels celebrated the ‘evaluation of the world for a more humane world’. The re-established peace was promoted, even if the traumas of the war were still fresh. Scientific progress was the central theme, with a particular focus on civil nuclear power. As an American newspaper predicted in January 1957: ‘The atomic age is going to have its first world’s fair’. The Expo opened against the backdrop of the Cold War. The pavilions of the Soviet Union and the United States faced each other. A few nations that had recently gained their independence were present, but the Expo still celebrated the colonial empires, in particular the then Belgian Congo, presented in a colonial section that drew criticism. Europe also took centre stage at Expo 58. In the ‘International Cooperation’ section, the European Coal and Steel Community pavilion featured the recreation of a coal mine (you can visit it virtually here: https://historia.europa.eu/en/digital-offer/expo-58). By 1958, however, coal was in decline. The mines that had made the founding states of the European Community prosperous would soon begin to close. Yet, the rapid economic growth of the post-war period created an ever-increasing demand for energy. Nuclear energy was seen as one of the solutions for the future. In a tense international context, the European imperative to free itself from dependence on world energy markets accelerated the discussions that led to the creation of the European Atomic Energy Community by the Treaties of Rome signed on 25 March 1957. See other objects from our collection related to the 1958 World Fair, below.
    Inscription
    Inscription Position: bottom left corner Offset - Fr. De Smet & Zoon - Antwerpen Translation: Offset - Fr. De Smet & Son - Antwerp
    Inscription Position: bottom center Wereldtentoonstelling Brussel 17 april - 19 october 1958 Translation: Brussels World Fair 17th April - 19th October 1958
    Signature Position: Right border D'Hooghe
    Credit line
    Acquired 2015. EU, EP, House of European History, Brussels.
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