Designed by French architect Louis Damesme in neoclassical style, the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie was inaugurated in 1819. When a fire laid waste to the opera house in 1855, only the pediment, featuring the bas-relief The Harmony of Human Passions, and the colonnade were left intact. Architect Joseph Poelaert was tasked with rebuilding the auditorium. In 1963, La Monnaie became the national opera house. Work undertaken in 1985 by Liège-based architect Charles Vandenhove and the architectural firms A.2R.C. and URBAT gave the auditorium a facelift and made technical improvements to the stage. As he often did, Vandenhove teamed up with various illustrious artists to infuse the space with a postmodern vibe. Thus, the redevelopment of the entrance saw him bring in US artist Sol LeWitt for the black-and-white marble floor with its fan-shaped design and Sam Francis, another American, to paint the triptych on the ceiling. The all-marble Royal Salon’s floor by Daniel Buren and sculptures by Giulio Paolini complement Vandenhove’s architecture well. The most radical alterations were to the stage. The nine-storey stage house was completely dismantled and reconstructed within the existing walls. The extension created by A.2R.C. and URBAT and clearly visible on the façade enhances the whole with a motif that deliberately echoes the 19th-century pediment. The space is punctuated by a central window alluding to the eye from an engraving by French neoclassical architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux in the theatre at Besançon, and a blue banner reminiscent of René Magritte. Vandenhove makes a daring mix of references to the history of art and architecture, something characteristic of the postmodern movement.