From April 24 to August 31, 2025, the Art & History Museum presents a special exhibition to mark the release of the French graphic novel Caballero Bueno, by Thomas Lavachery and Thomas Gilbert. Original plates from the comic are displayed alongside photographs and notebooks from the expedition, blending fiction with historical reality.
The museum’s full Rapa Nui collection is not exhibited, apart from a few masterpieces: a colossal stone statue (moai), a monumental red stone headdress (pukao) from another figure, and two finely carved wooden sculptures. These exceptional works offer a rare insight into the artistic and cultural heritage of Easter Island.
Caballero BuenoOne of the few moai statue on display outside Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
The Art & History Museum has the privilege of exhibiting one of the famous colossal stone statues from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). This acquisition was made in 1934 during a scientific expedition organized by the Musée de l'Homme in Paris and the Royal Museums of Art and History, represented respectively by the Franco-Swiss ethnologist Alfred Métraux and the Belgian philologist Henri Lavachery.
The work of these two researchers culminated in the official donation of this statue by Chile, a gift that the Rapanuis (Pascuans) of the time accepted in recognition of the strong human experience...
The Art & History Museum has the privilege of exhibiting one of the famous colossal stone statues from Rapa Nui (Easter Island). This acquisition was made in 1934 during a scientific expedition organized by the Musée de l'Homme in Paris and the Royal Museums of Art and History, represented respectively by the Franco-Swiss ethnologist Alfred Métraux and the Belgian philologist Henri Lavachery.
The work of these two researchers culminated in the official donation of this statue by Chile, a gift that the Rapanuis (Pascuans) of the time accepted in recognition of the strong human experience nurtured by the two European researchers. The six-tonne stone sculpture, which probably represents the god of the tuna fishers, was brought to Belgium in 1935 on board the training-ship Mercator. We now know that this statue is one of the oldest on the island, carved in the 14th century AD. Only two other museums in the world possess complete Rapa Nui statues: two at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington (USA) and two at the British Museum in London (UK). A thousand giants still lie on the ground of this famous island.
Masterpieces of woodcarving
Although Rapa Nui is famous for its stone giants, woodcarving was also particularly rich. The Museum has two of the finest examples of this fascinating art: a moai kavakava (human figure with visible ribs) and a moai tangata moko (lizard-man figure). Both figures are carved from toromiro, a native tree from the island with remarkable plastic qualities. The kavakava moai is carbon-dated to the 15th century AD.
Contact
Serge Lemaitre
s.lemaitre@kmkg-mrah.be