HORTA, Victor

The picture shows furnishings from the H�tel Aubecq in Brussels. This building (1899-1902) was an Art Nouveau mansion designed by Victor Horta for the industrialist Octave Aubecq. It was demolished in 1950, and the furniture was dispersed in private or public collections. Some of the stained-glass windows, woodwork and furniture are on display at the Mus�e d’Orsay, Paris.

This chair came from either the Tassel house or the castle of La Hulpe.

Horta designed every detail, including the bronze doorbell and the house number, to match the overall style. The ornate Art Nouveau bell makes it clear that this is not the bell to ring if one is delivering something.

The H�tel Tassel was followed by a series of innovative Art Nouveau buildings in Brussels. In the following year, Horta was commissioned to design a large house for Armand Solvay, son of the famous industrial chemist Ernest Solvay. The H�tel Solvay was perhaps Horta’s most sumptuous private commission and survived complete with its original furniture, which he also designed. The fa�ade is almost symmetrical and is sculptural in quality, with the two end bays projecting in the first and second storeys, subdivided by thin metal colonnettes and transoms; there is elaborate abstract ironwork in the balconies.

Inside, the metal structure is exposed, and Horta’s fluid organic style extended to the stained-glass windows and light fittings. Murals were painted in the house by Theo Van Rysselberghe in 1912.

Victor Horta’s building is now transformed into a museum that presents an extraordinarily well-preserved Art Nouveau decor. The painting on the landing of the grand staircase is Theo van Rysselberghe’s Reading in the Park (1902).

Victor Horta’s building is now transformed into a museum that presents an extraordinarily well-preserved Art Nouveau decor. The painting on the landing of the grand staircase is Theo van Rysselberghe’s Reading in the Park (1902).

Victor Horta’s building is now transformed into a museum that presents an extraordinarily well-preserved Art Nouveau decor.

Victor Horta’s building is now transformed into a museum that presents an extraordinarily well-preserved Art Nouveau decor.

The H�tel Solvay is a large Art Nouveau town house designed by Victor Horta on the Avenue Louise in Brussels. The house was commissioned by Armand Solvay, the son of the wealthy Belgian chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay. For this wealthy patron Horta could spend a fortune on precious materials and expensive details. Horta designed every single detail; furniture, carpets, light fittings, tableware and even the door bell. He used expensive materials such as marble, onyx, bronze, tropic woods etc. For the decoration of the staircase Horta cooperated with the Belgian pointillist painter Th�o van Rysselberghe.

Victor Horta’s building is now transformed into a museum that presents an extraordinarily well-preserved Art Nouveau decor. The painting on the landing of the grand staircase is Theo van Rysselberghe’s Reading in the Park (1902).

In 1892-93, Horta produced the first major work of Art Nouveau with the revolutionary H�tel Tassel (now the Mexican Embassy), 6 Rue Paul-Emile Janson, Brussels. It was built before Henry Van de Velde - sometimes credited with the invention of the style - had built his first house. The symmetrical, stone-faced exterior of the four-storey building features exposed metalwork in the window mullions and lintels. The most extraordinary features of the house are the exposed interior metal structure and the free plan. The latter was developed in an innovative, asymmetrical arrangement around an open staircase, with rooms of varying shapes and sizes and including a mezzanine that responded to the client’s brief.

The characteristic, curvilinear decoration of the interior metalwork is particularly apparent in the staircase hall. Here a single free-standing column branches out to support the ceiling and landings, while organic tendrils intertwine to form the balustrade. Similar patterns are incorporated in two dimensions in the mosaic floor, and the effect was reinforced by the original painted decoration, which consisted of curvilinear patterns interweaving up the walls. Horta commented of this style that he discarded the flower and the leaf but kept the stalk, suggesting that his inspiration came from nature. The original contents (later dispersed) were also designed by Horta to match the decoration. Some elements, such as English wallpaper - probably by Heywood Sumner - in the dining room, indicate Horta’s awareness of artistic developments in England that were later considered part of Art Nouveau.

The characteristic, curvilinear decoration of the interior metalwork is particularly apparent in the staircase hall. Here a single free-standing column branches out to support the ceiling and landings, while organic tendrils intertwine to form the balustrade. Similar patterns are incorporated in two dimensions in the mosaic floor, and the effect was reinforced by the original painted decoration, which consisted of curvilinear patterns interweaving up the walls.

The characteristic, curvilinear decoration of the interior metalwork is particularly apparent in the staircase hall. Here a single free-standing column branches out to support the ceiling and landings, while organic tendrils intertwine to form the balustrade. Similar patterns are incorporated in two dimensions in the mosaic floor, and the effect was reinforced by the original painted decoration, which consisted of curvilinear patterns interweaving up the walls.

A shallow glass dome, which is supported by elliptical arches above a circle of iron columns, lights the hall; across the dome, long, leaf-like tendrils of coloured glass continue the sinuous curves of the structure below.

Perhaps the most modern of Horta’s house fa�ades is that of the H�tel van Eetvelde (1895-97), which employed a rational iron frame decorated with mosaic panels bordered by free-flowing ‘whiplash’ lines. The luxurious interior, replete with marbles and gilt bronze, features a staircase and landings wrapped around a double-height octagonal hall near the centre of the plan. A shallow glass dome, which is supported by elliptical arches above a circle of iron columns, lights the hall; across the dome, long, leaf-like tendrils of coloured glass continue the sinuous curves of the structure below.

Perhaps the most modern of Horta’s house fa�ades is that of the H�tel van Eetvelde (1895-97), which employed a rational iron frame decorated with mosaic panels bordered by free-flowing ‘whiplash’ lines. The luxurious interior, replete with marbles and gilt bronze, features a staircase and landings wrapped around a double-height octagonal hall near the centre of the plan. A shallow glass dome, which is supported by elliptical arches above a circle of iron columns, lights the hall; across the dome, long, leaf-like tendrils of coloured glass continue the sinuous curves of the structure below.

The luxurious interior, replete with marbles and gilt bronze, features a staircase and landings wrapped around a double-height octagonal hall near the centre of the plan. A shallow glass dome, which is supported by elliptical arches above a circle of iron columns, lights the hall; across the dome, long, leaf-like tendrils of coloured glass continue the sinuous curves of the structure below.

Much more use was made of iron as a building material in this building than in the previous structures by Horta. Glass partitions between slender cast-iron struts surround the central core of the house. The ornaments grow out of the supports of the glass ceiling, which pulls together the octagonal space and lends it a floating and yet enclosed lightness.

The luxurious interior, replete with marbles and gilt bronze, features a staircase and landings wrapped around a double-height octagonal hall near the centre of the plan. A shallow glass dome, which is supported by elliptical arches above a circle of iron columns, lights the hall; across the dome, long, leaf-like tendrils of coloured glass continue the sinuous curves of the structure below.

The luxurious interior, replete with marbles and gilt bronze, features a staircase and landings wrapped around a double-height octagonal hall near the centre of the plan. A shallow glass dome, which is supported by elliptical arches above a circle of iron columns, lights the hall; across the dome, long, leaf-like tendrils of coloured glass continue the sinuous curves of the structure below.

The Magasins Waucquez was originally a department store specializing in textiles. In its design, Horta used all his skill with steel and glass to create dramatic open spaces and to give them an abundance of light from above. The steel and glass skylight is combined with decorative touches, such as neoclassical columns. The store closed in 1970, and now a museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

The Magasins Waucquez was originally a department store specializing in textiles. In its design, Horta used all his skill with steel and glass to create dramatic open spaces and to give them an abundance of light from above. The steel and glass skylight is combined with decorative touches, such as neoclassical columns. The store closed in 1970, and now a museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

The photo shows the upper floor.

The Magasins Waucquez was originally a department store specializing in textiles. In its design, Horta used all his skill with steel and glass to create dramatic open spaces and to give them an abundance of light from above. The steel and glass skylight is combined with decorative touches, such as neoclassical columns. The store closed in 1970, and now a museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

The photo shows the second floor.

The Magasins Waucquez was originally a department store specializing in textiles. In its design, Horta used all his skill with steel and glass to create dramatic open spaces and to give them an abundance of light from above. The steel and glass skylight is combined with decorative touches, such as neoclassical columns. The store closed in 1970, and now a museum, the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

In this building, Horta was fully committed to architecture. Functional purpose comes to the fore, combined with a Classicist feeling for form, as seen in the ceiling bearers. This would become the mark of his work in the coming years.

The four major town houses - H�tel Tassel, H�tel Solvay, H�tel van Eetvelde, and Maison & Atelier Horta - located in Brussels and designed by the architect Victor Horta, one of the earliest initiators of Art Nouveau, are some of the most remarkable pioneering works of architecture of the end of the 19th century. The stylistic revolution represented by these works is characterised by their open plan, the diffusion of light, and the brilliant joining of the curved lines of decoration with the structure of the building.

Horta’s former house and workshop now houses a museum focusing on Horta’s life and is among the few buildings by the architect that are open to the public.

View the section of Maison Horta. The house The house and studio are divided into 5 levels: a basement, a ground floor, the piano nobile (or second level from the street), and the first and second floors (or third and fourth levels from the street.

When he was building his own house, Horta felt himself free to use all the construction elements he considered important. Wood was to soar now as well. Every piece of furnishing is constructed on the same static/energetic principle, where wood - like stone - sometimes loses its natural character as material and is similarly transformed into a flowing, sculptural material. The end result is an Art Nouveau synthesis of art, a Gesamtkunstwerk.

Horta also produced some non-residential buildings in Brussels that incorporated features of Art Nouveau design, notably the Maison du Peuple (1895-89; destroyed 1964) and the department store A l’Innovation (1901; destroyed 1966).

The Maison du Peuple was intended as the headquarters of the recently established Belgian Socialist Party. It was largely financed by the Solvay Company, Armand Solvay being a close friend of the militant socialist Emile Vandervelde. The building’s design, with curved and angled fa�ades, clearly reflected its irregular, partly curved site fronting onto two radial streets. The Maison du Peuple has been referred to as the Art Nouveau version of American office buildings designed by Louis Sullivan; instead of being clad in stone or terracotta, as in the USA. However, here the iron frame was exposed, with masonry cladding used only for the end bays and around the entrance. At the top of the building, inside the high mansard roof, was an auditorium featuring Horta’s most successful attempt to combine the ornamental and the structural use of iron: his exposed framework of trussed metal columns angled upwards from the floor to continue as beams across the ceiling, incorporating graceful curves and ornamental elements.

In 1899, the finished building was not only Horta’s masterpiece but also a chef-d’oeuvre of modernism. The monument built in red brick, white cast iron and glass offered large rooms filled with natural light. Horta achieved to build his masterpiece on a narrow and steep plot. The multifunctional building included a restaurant and several shops, as well as a clinic, a library, offices, meeting rooms, and a large, 2000-seat auditorium. This building represents a milestone in the evolution of Horta’s work; the fa�ade had fewer visible Art Nouveau decorative elements. Though still present, he progressively abandoned the curves and vegetal-inspired decorative elements for sober lines showing off the modern materials. The Maison du Peuple was the Workers’ Party landmark. It brought art, space, and light to workers, two elements missing from their homes.

At the top of the building, inside the high mansard roof, was an auditorium that featured Horta’s most successful attempt to combine the ornamental and the structural use of iron: his exposed framework of trussed metal columns angled upwards from the floor to continue as beams across the ceiling, incorporating graceful curves and ornamental elements.

Much of Horta’s later professional work was concerned with two major public commissions in Brussels: the Palais des Beaux-Arts (designed 1914; built 1919-28) and the Gare Centrale (first planned 1910; begun 1937 and completed 1946-53 by Maxime Brunfaut).

The Palais des Beaux-Arts (Centre for Fine Arts), often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of Beaux-Arts), is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels. Horta began designing it following World War I in a more geometric style than his previous works, similar to Art Deco. Originally the building was planned to be of stone, but Horta made a new plan of reinforced concrete with a steel frame. He had intended the concrete to be left exposed in the interior, but the final appearance did not meet his expectations, and he had it covered. It took more than a decade to complete the complex, which has a large concert hall in an unusual ovoid, or egg shape. Moreover, it has a recital room, a chamber music room, lecture rooms, and a vast gallery for temporary exhibitions. Horta managed to put together this array of different functions on a rather small building plot with restricted conditions using more than 8 building levels with a large part situated underground.

The photo shows the Concert Hall Henry Le Boeuf, named after the banker and patron of the arts and music lover Henry Le Boeuf (1874-1935), who promoted the foundation and funding of the complex.

Much of Horta’s later professional work was concerned with two major public commissions in Brussels: the Palais des Beaux-Arts (designed 1914; built 1919-28) and the Gare Centrale (first planned 1910; begun 1937 and completed 1946-53 by Maxime Brunfaut).

The Palais des Beaux-Arts (Centre for Fine Arts), often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of Beaux-Arts), is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels. Horta began designing it following World War I in a more geometric style than his previous works, similar to Art Deco. Originally, the building was planned to be of stone, but Horta made a new plan of reinforced concrete with a steel frame. He had intended the concrete to be left exposed in the interior, but the final appearance did not meet his expectations, and he had it covered. It took more than a decade to complete the complex, which has a large concert hall in an unusual ovoid, or egg shape. Moreover, it has a recital room, a chamber music room, lecture rooms, and a vast gallery for temporary exhibitions. Horta managed to put together this array of different functions on a rather small building plot with restricted conditions using more than 8 building levels with a large part situated underground.

This table was probably designed for the International exhibition of Turin 1902.