Signpost 2: Brussels - Art Nouveau for Nouveaux Riches
The height of architect Victor Horta’s career coincided with Leopold II’s ascension to the Belgian throne. Leopold was interested in remaking Brussels with parks, museums, and elegant streetscapes although he preferred classic French architecture to the “new art” that was beginning to appear. Horta was one of the architects building in this new art fashion. While he was classically trained, Horta believed in transferring the spirit of Classicism to other styles and adapting it to modern materials. In the 1890s, his creative shift corresponded with the rising fortunes of self-made businessmen and together they transformed the streetscapes of several Brussels avenues.
Hôtel Tassel, Victor Horta, 1892-93
Rue Paul-Emile Janson, Brussels
Photo credit: By I, Karl Stas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2525009
Horta was the first architect to use industrial building techniques in residences. He made extensive use of iron for structural support, leaving some of it visible on exteriors and interiors. The iron structure allowed a larger number of windows, the elimination of some interior load-bearing walls, and rooftop skylights, all of which improved light and circulation. His clientele were particularly sensitized to the quest for modernity, having built their own businesses. As Horta wrote in his memoirs: “I was received into that particular milieu, because the audacity of picking me—a sure sign of energy and independence—demonstrated, albeit in a different way, of the energy required by the Solvay brothers to invent their soda.”
Stairway, Hôtel Tassel, Victor Horta, 1892-93
Houses like Hôtel Tassel and Hôtel Solvay are the among the first fully-executed Art Nouveau buildings. Horta applied sinuous, organic forms to the houses’ exteriors and interiors by using exposed, sculpted iron balconies and railings. At Hôtel Tassel, column capitals did not follow the classical order but are open structures reminiscent of flowering buds. The stairwell is painted with iridescent forms matched to curvaceous iron balustrades and swirling tile patterns, all brightly lighted from above by an iron and glass skylight. It was an extreme departure from the symmetrical, linear architecture of neoclassicism.
Doorbell, Hôtel Solvay, Victor Horta, 1895-1900
Photo credit: By Rharris - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21629543
Following the total work of art philosophy, Horta designed the furnishings and every decorative detail down to the doorbells of his townhouses. Like the interior ornamentation, his furniture has an organic fluidity that appeared wholly original and integrated with the house. While Horta’s Art Nouveau phase only lasted about 10 years, he was hugely influential among contemporary architects and designers. Going beyond Brussel, he displayed his furniture and interiors at international exhibitions including the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition and the 1902 Turin Exposition of Modern Decorative Arts. When Art Nouveau went out of fashion, a number of his buildings were torn down; however, four of the townhouses remain as museums to his work.
Dining room, Hôtel Aubecq, Victor Horta, 1899-1902
Photo credit: Hortamuseum, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71687880