ABSTRACT
While the exhibiting of foreign sculptors in Belgium was perceived as a positive contribution to the international appeal of the nation, this was far less the case for their possible participation in the execution of public commissions. Nevertheless, the amount of public commissions after the 1850s only grew in number, leading to a larger variety of sculptors that were chosen to execute them, and at the same time, increasing the general attention on the selection of the sculptor. Due to better means of transportation, growing cosmopolitism, and political and economic stability in Belgium, the presence of French artists in the country during the second half of the nineteenth century steadily grew. When observing the building, the creation that probably meets the eye first, is the main fronton depicting the Goddess of Commerce and her servants. In general, the different hands working on the Bourse are barely distinguishable, mostly because the statues on roof are difficult to observe from the ground.
