If there is one name to remember in the history of the Passage du Nord, it is Léon Fontaine. After the gallery’s inauguration in 1882, the cultural ambitions of the venue — museum and theatre — struggled to attract an audience. The project faltered, debts accumulated, and the Passage was on the verge of being mortgaged.

It was in this context that Léon Fontaine stepped in. A man of the shadows, discreet yet determined, he saved the building from an unfortunate fate. Born in Mons on 1 October 1846 into a family of jurists, he lost his mother at the age of two and was mainly raised by his maternal grandparents in Brussels. His grandfather, Charles Letoret, a physician and industrialist, had a profound influence on him.

Léon Fontaine began his career in the coal industry, in Flénu, his native region, where his uncle was a mining company administrator. He was listed there as an assistant engineer. From 1873 onwards, he was appointed Vice-Consul of Spain in Brussels — a role that reflects his integration into the influential circles of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. Léon Fontaine married Marie Pauline Eugénie van der Straeten in 1875. Together, they had four daughters: Odile, Gabrielle, Marguerite, and Suzanne.

The acquisition of the Passage du Nord marked the pinnacle of a career grounded in the economic and social networks of the time, balancing heritage ambition with pragmatic management. Thanks to him, the Passage endured through the decades and remains today in the hands of his descendants, who continue to oversee its vitality and preservation.