Years active | c. 1919–1939 |
---|---|
Location | Belgium |
The Art Deco movement of architecture and design appeared in Brussels, Belgium, immediately after World War I when the famed architect Victor Horta began designing the Centre for Fine Arts, and continued until the beginning of World War II in 1939. It took its name from the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925. At the end of World War II, Art Deco in Brussels faded to make way for the modernist and international architectural styles that would mark the postwar period.
Art Deco in Brussels was the result of a dual Austrian and American influence: on the one hand, the influence exerted by the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann and the Viennese Secession, via the Stoclet Palace in the Woluwe-Saint-Pierre municipality, on certain Brussels' architects following geometric Art Nouveau (such as Léon Sneyers, Jean-Baptiste Dewin and Camille Damman), as well as on the new generation of post-World War I architects; on the other, the influence exerted by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright on Victor Horta who visited his works (like the Unity Temple in Oak Park) during the two years he spent in exile in the United States during the war, from 1916 to 1918. [1]
The architects of the Vienna Secession (formed in 1897), especially Josef Hoffmann, had a notable influence on Art Deco and early modernism in Brussels. His Stoclet Palace (1905–1911) on the Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, was a prototype of the Art Deco style, featuring geometric volumes, symmetry, straight lines, concrete covered with marble plaques, finely-sculpted ornament, and lavish interiors, including mosaic friezes by Gustav Klimt. [2] The house was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. [3]
The post-World War I austerity meant that Art Nouveau was no longer affordable or fashionable for Brussels' upper middle class. On his return to Brussels in January 1919, following his exile to the United States, Victor Horta, who had gradually been simplifying his style over the previous decade, abandoned organic forms, and instead based his designs on the geometrical. He continued to use rational floor plans, and to apply the latest developments in building technology and building services engineering. Beginning in 1919, he developed the plans for the Centre for Fine Arts in central Brussels, a multi-purpose cultural centre designed in a more geometric style similar to Art Deco, with construction starting in 1923. [1] It was completed in 1929.
Monumental Art Deco structures in Brussels include the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (1919–1969), located at the border between the Koekelberg and Ganshoren municipalities, as well as Brussels' Central and North railway stations (both constructed as part of the North–South connection). The latter, located in Schaerbeek, has also kept its original clock tower. [4]
Some religious buildings from the interwar period were also constructed in that style, such as the Church of St. John the Baptist (1930–1932) in Molenbeek [15] and the Church of St. Augustine (1932–1935) in Forest. [16] Another example are the exhibition halls of the Centenary Palace, built for the 1935 World's Fair on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in northern Brussels, and home to the Brussels Exhibition Centre (Brussels Expo). [17]
Victor Pierre Horta was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. He was a fervent admirer of the French architectural theorist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels (1892–93), often considered the first Art Nouveau house, is based on the work of Viollet-le-Duc. The curving stylized vegetal forms that Horta used in turn influenced many others, including the French architect Hector Guimard, who used it in the first Art Nouveau apartment building he designed in Paris and in the entrances he designed for the Paris Metro. He is also considered a precursor of modern architecture for his open floor plans and his innovative use of iron, steel and glass.
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.
Paul Saintenoy was a Belgian architect, teacher, architectural historian, and writer.
Ixelles or Elsene is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, Etterbeek, Forest, Uccle, Saint-Gilles and Watermael-Boitsfort.
The Centre for Fine Arts is a multi-purpose cultural venue in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR in French or by its initials PSK in Dutch. This multidisciplinary space was designed to bring together a wide range of artistic events, whether music, visual arts, theatre, dance, literature, cinema or architecture.
The Place Eugène Flagey or Eugène Flageyplein (Dutch), usually shortened to the Place Flagey, or Flagey by locals, is a square in the Brussels municipality of Ixelles, Belgium. It bears the name of a former mayor of Ixelles, Eugène Flagey.
The Horta Museum is a museum in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to the life and work of the architect Victor Horta and his time. The museum is housed in Horta's former town house and workshop, built between 1898 and 1901, in Art Nouveau style. It is located at 23–25, rue Américaine/Amerikaansestraat in the municipality of Saint-Gilles.
The Hôtel van Eetvelde is a historic town house in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by Victor Horta for Edmond van Eetvelde, administrator of Congo Free State, and built between 1895 and 1898, in Art Nouveau style. It is located at 4, avenue Palmerston/Palmerstonlaan in the Squares Quarter. Two extensions, also designed by Horta, were added between 1898 and 1901.
Henri van Dievoet was a Belgian architect.
The major town houses of Victor Horta are four town houses in Brussels, Belgium, which have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. All four houses were designed and built by the Belgian architect Victor Horta (1861–1947), who pioneered the Art Nouveau style during the mid-1890s.
The Avenue de Tervueren or Tervurenlaan is a major thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally commissioned by King Leopold II as part of his building campaign, and was finished in 1897, in time for the Brussels International Exhibition of that year.
The Putterie (French) or Putterij (Dutch) is a former quarter of central Brussels, Belgium. The district was centred around Saint Mary Magdalene's Church, between the Rue de la Montagne/Bergstraat, the Rue de la Madeleine/Magdalenastraat and the current Boulevard de l’Impératrice/Keizerinlaan. It was largely destroyed starting in the 1920s with the works of the North–South connection, a major railway link through central Brussels, to develop the area for Brussels-Central railway station and other modern office buildings. Many historic structures were lost in the demolition process.
The Municipal Hall of Forest is the municipal hall building and the seat of that municipality of Brussels, Belgium. Built between 1935 and 1938, and qualified as a prototype of Brussels' Art Deco, this building illustrates the leading role the style played in public architecture during the interwar period.
The Place de Brouckère or De Brouckèreplein (Dutch) is a major square in central Brussels, Belgium. It was created following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), replacing the Temple of the Augustinians, which was demolished in 1893. It is named in honour of Charles de Brouckère, a former mayor of the City of Brussels and professor at the Free University of Brussels, who played a great political role during the Belgian Revolution of 1830. The square measures approximately 50 by 350 metres and is nearly entirely paved.
The Art Nouveau movement of architecture and design first appeared in Brussels, Belgium, in the early 1890s, and quickly spread to France and to the rest of Europe. It began as a reaction against the formal vocabulary of European academic art, eclecticism and historicism of the 19th century, and was based upon an innovative use of new materials, such as iron and glass, to open larger interior spaces and provide maximum light; curving lines such as the whiplash line; and other designs inspired by plants and other natural forms.
The Boulevard Adolphe Max or Adolphe Maxlaan (Dutch) is a central boulevard in Brussels, Belgium. It was created following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), and bears the name of Adolphe Max, a former mayor of the City of Brussels.
The Timeline of Art Nouveau shows notable works and events of Art Nouveau as well as of local movements included in it.
The Flagey Building, also known as the Radio House, is a building located in Ixelles, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, housing the Flagey cultural centre. It is located on the south-western corner of Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein, with its main entrance on the Place Sainte-Croix/Heilig-Kruisplein.
Antoine Varlet was a Belgian architect. He specialised in luxury apartment buildings in Beaux-Arts and later Art Deco styles.
The Place Charles Rogier or Karel Rogierplein (Dutch), usually shortened to the Place Rogier, or Rogier by locals, is a major square in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Belgium. It is named in honour of Charles Rogier, a former Prime Minister of Belgium who played a great political role during the Belgian Revolution of 1830.