The Academic hall: commentary of the virtual tour
Virtual tour
The Academic hall falls very clearly into the neoclassical style much used toward the end of the 18th century for official buildings. In line with this neoclassical taste, the works that it contains are marked by Anticomania.
La grisaille
Above the gallery, one can admire "La grisaille" by Alexandre Rifflaert.
The work represents King William I, founder of the University, placing the crowns of laurels on the heads of the first graduates, led by the goddess Athena-Minerva (notice the duvet on her helmet) and accompanied by two winged Victories.
On the left, an allegorical group figures the City of Liège, before the stoop, dictating to Memory the names of its illustrious children. On the headstone, one can read the names of Méan, Lombard, Rennequin, Reynier, Bertholet, Lairesse, Carlier, Fassin, Delcour, Natalis, Grétry and Velbruck.
The king is represented between two characters: Hercules to the left, symbolising strength, and a female character to the right, holding the scepter, symbolising power, perhaps.
In the centre right of "La grisaille", the then taught first disciplines are evoked. Justice, sitting at the feet of the king, hands him the crowns. Eyes blindfolded, she holds in her left hand the scales and the sword. Behind her, an unidentified female figure tends to the kind a bouquet of wheat and flowers, and holds in her left arm a statuette.
To her right, holding a trumpet and a book, Clio, the muse of history, observes Asclepius, god of medicine, seated before her, recognizable by the stick that he holds in his arm, on which is coiled a snake. Chronos, Time, winged old man bearing a sickle, unveils the globe, while Geography manipulates a compass, next to an indispensable instrument for the study of physics at the time.
In the background of this part of the work, one can distinguish the sails of ships, recalling that Liège is a river port. On the right, two characters are pouring water. This could be an allegory of the Meuse and the Ourthe. The cornucopia behind Clio echoes the prosperity of the city, while the factories further off speak of its thriving industry.
Le chronogramme
The chronogrammatical inscription (attributed to Pr J.D. Fuss) above "La grisaille" means "It was thus that he adorned himself with the laurel of hope in the gentle homeland". It indicates the date of 1824, the inauguration date of the academic hall.
Stuccoes and statues
Above each door repeats the same relief, which represents two female figures holding a wreath of laurels, all in a web of foliage.
Above "La grisaille", behind the gallery, two winged figures bear the arms of William I and his motto, "I will hold".
The wreath of laurels, already present on the doors, is again used as a decorative element on the ceiling. Here, it surrounds the letter W, for Willem (William in Dutch).
The hemicycle is covered by a vault made of trapezoidal caissons with floral decorations and golden leaf rosettes.
The architecture of the Academic hall has 6 cul-de-four niches hosting statues pregnant with symbolism.
In good position, behind the gallery, blindfolded Justice, holding the scales in her right hand and a sword in her left. The scales symbolise the thorough search for items that weigh on the decision of the judge, when he/she must decide (sword).
To the right of "La grisaille", a female statue symbolises Wisdom (owl) and Hope (anchor).
In the vestibules, in the two entrances of the Academic hall, are found the statues of Athena and Hermes. In the stairwells leading to the 1st floor one finds the two final statues, by all accounts Asclepius and Apollo.
Athena (Minerva): this divinity, fully armed and helmeted out of Zeus' head, appears as a symbol of resolved battle in opposition to brutal force. Through the felicitous influence of her reason and subtle reflection, Athena brings to the letters and the arts the energy and inspiration necessary for an extensive and constant spiritual radiance.
Hermes (Mercury): The Greeks worshipped him as master of persuasive speech, inventor of the lyre, patron of passages, which made him the messenger of the gods, the patron of trade, and the guide of the soul toward the afterlife. His usual attributes are represented here: scholarship, the winged petasus (round hat), the caduceus and the winged sandals. The caduceus (herald's scepter) is composed of a baton around which is coiled two serpents which face each other at the top.
Asclepius (Aesculapius): Son of Apollo, he is a hero who will become the god of medicine. He is usually represented with a baton (which is often confused with the Caduceus of Hermes) and a serpent. Here, he holds in his right hand healing herbs. The cult of Asclepius was very important to Epidaurus: this is where we were to seek healing, in the great extra-urban sanctuary where non-venomous snakes lived.
Apollo: The Greeks saw in Apollo the god of rapid and precise thought. Patron of the arts, of poetry and of music, he passed by to inspire poets and to answer the questions of his faithful followers in the famous sanctuary of Delphi, where the Pythia performed her oracles.
The coat-of-arms of the University was installed to the left of one of the gateways of the Academic hall. Before the restoration, he was behind the gallery.
These arms were granted to teh University of Liège in 1967. One can there find, in 1 and 3, the Liège stoop, surrounded by the L and the G, the word LièGe, in gold "de gueules" (i.e. on a red background). In 2 and 3, in red on a gold background, stands a rectangular grill with five bars, with a ringed stem surrounded by four coquilles saint-jacques (scallops).
The domain of Sart Tilman was once the possession of the Abbey of St. James and the Abbey of Saint-Laurent. The coquilles de Saint-Jacques, that one finds in the ecus of the former Liège Abbey, were worn by the pilgrims of the Middle Ages, in Saint-Jacques de Compostelle. As for the grill, it appeared on one of the markers of the domain of the Abbey of Saint-Laurent. It symbolises the torture of the grill that the saint underwent in 258.
The budget of the restoration amounts to more than 2,760,000 Euros financed primarily by the University of Liège and the Walloon Region, with the additional help of the City and Province of Liège.
