Victor Driessens

The statue of Victor Driessens, designed by Frans Joris, was inaugurated in 1888. In 1853, Driessens, one of the founders of the National Theatre, countered the almost exclusively French speaking cultural life of the Théâtre Royal (1834), now the Bourla Theatre. He later became the first director of the Flemish Theatre (1874). In the early 1950s, the statue was placed in the foyer of the Bourla, and since the redevelopment of Graanmarkt in 1981 it has stood in its current outdoor location.  

Frans Joris depicted Driessens as contemporaries recalled seeing him each evening in the theater’s entrance hall: dressed in modern style, wearing a long astrakhan coat. His left hand rests on his hip, while in his right he holds a bundle of papers. 

The initiative for the statue came from a committee that raised the necessary funds. A competition was organized, with Frans Joris chosen as the winner and awarded the commission. At the artist’s request, the statue was also exhibited at the 1894 World’s Fair. 

Frans Joris (1851–1914) was known for his numerous monuments and portrait busts. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where from 1883 onward he himself became a professor.