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One of the great Formula One racing drivers of the 1960s and 1970s (born 1945).

After Rubens’ death, another of his collaborators Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678) became Antwerp’s leading painter. He is best remembered for allegorical paintings expressing the joie-devivre of the Baroque age.

Jacques Brel (1929–78) still ranks in many people’s minds as the greatest singer-songwriter in the French language. Although he first made his name in France, he remained loyal to his Belgian origins. The Jacques Brel Foundation in Brussels celebrates his life and work.

The work of James Ensor (1860–1949) has earned him a reputation as one of art history’s great eccentrics. His paintings incorporate skeletons, masks and hideous caricatures (see Skeletons Fighting over a Pickled Herring).

The sheer technical brilliance and almost photographic detail of work by Jan van Eyck (c.1390–1441) are self-evident in paintings such as Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele and The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb . Van Eyck’s work had a major impact on Italian art, and helped fuel the Renaissance.

One of the most inventive of the Symbolists (1867–1953), famed for brilliantly coloured visions of Satanic forces.

A former karate champion, Jean-Claude Van Damme (born 1960) did odd jobs in California, such as delivering pizzas and laying carpets, before making his name with action thrillers like Cyborg , Kickboxer (1989) and Universal Soldier (1992).

A real curiosity – a 15th-century private chapel inspired by pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Next door is the Kantcentrum (Lace Centre).

Although Johnny Halliday (born 1943) is most famous as the “godfather of French rock ’n’ roll”, Belgium also claims him: his father was Belgian. In a long career he has sold over 100 million records. He has had a parallel career in film acting, recently impressing critics with his superb performance in the title role of L’Homme du Train (The Man on the Train , 2003).

Together with Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin has brought Belgian tennis to a new level. She scored her first Grand Slam victory in the French Open in 2003, going on to win the US Open later the same year – each time in finals against Clijsters.