Collection
of the CPAS of the City of Brussels
ICONOGRAPHIC FONDS
Residents of the Hospice de l'Infirmerie,
b/w photography, 1930, Inv. HOSP./INF./ 23.
The CPAS collections also contain a fine collection of several thousand photographs, negatives and glass plates.
Very early on, the Council of Hospices and then the Commission for Public Assistance carried out on several occasions photographic reports in its establishments. The installations, the premises, the residents, but also the councilors and the premises of the administration are photographed, giving us today an idea of what life was like in the establishments and the administration.
The Council does the same when major work campaigns such as at the Saint-Pierre hospital, at the Saint-Jean hospital or at the Brugmann hospital, thus testifying to some major architectural changes that have taken place in Brussels.
Alongside this, the administration is getting into the habit of buying photos taken by professionals during events such as inaugurations, royal visits, etc.
As a result, the iconographic collection today constitutes an extraordinary testimony to life in former hospitals and hospices. In addition, over the years, many photographs have enriched the collections on the occasion of inheritances and numerous donations, notably from doctors, but also from private individuals.
