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.
The City of Brussels is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the Flemish Region and Belgium. The City of Brussels is also the administrative centre of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions in its European Quarter.
Paul Saintenoy was a Belgian architect, teacher, architectural historian, and writer.
Paul Hankar was a Belgian architect and furniture designer, and an innovator in the Art Nouveau style.
Gustave Strauven was a Belgian architect of the Art Nouveau style. He created more than 30 buildings, using new technologies and incorporating wrought iron floral motifs.
The Hôtel Solvay is a large historic town house in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by Victor Horta for Armand Solvay, the son of the chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay, and built between 1895 and 1900, in Art Nouveau style. It is located at 224, avenue Louise/Louizalaan, not far from the Hôtel Max Hallet, another remarkable Art Nouveau building by Horta.
The covering of the Senne was the covering and later diverting of the main river of Brussels, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and major boulevards in its place. Carried out between 1867 and 1871, it is one of the defining events in the history of Brussels.
Gabriel Van Dievoet was a Belgian decorator and Liberty style sgraffitist. He was the brother of the architect Henri Van Dievoet.
The Place des Martyrs is a historic square in central Brussels, Belgium. Its current name, meaning "Martyrs' Square", refers to the martyrs of the September Days of the Belgian Revolution of 1830.
The House and Workshop of master glassmaker Sterner in Brussels, Belgium, is the former town house and workshop of the master glassworker Clas Grüner Sterner. It was designed by the architect Ernest Delune, and built between 1893 and 1902, in Art Nouveau style.
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 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 Maison de l'Agneau Blanc or simply l'Agneau Blanc is a Baroque house, built in 1696, located at 42, rue du Marché aux Herbes/Grasmarkt in Brussels, Belgium, parallel to the Grand-Place/Grote Markt. It has been a protected heritage site since 2011.
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.
Octave van Rysselberghe was a Belgian architect of the Art Nouveau period. He is one of the representatives of the architectural renewal that characterized the end of the 19th century, with Victor Horta, Paul Hankar and Henry Van de Velde.
The Hôtel Otlet is a historic town house in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by the architect Octave van Rysselberghe for the jurist, bibliographer and entrepreneur Paul Otlet, and built between 1894 and 1898, in Art Nouveau style. This work marks the still cautious insertion of Van Rysselberghe into that style.
The Hôtel de Brouckère is a historic town house in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by the architect Octave van Rysselberghe, in collaboration with Henry van de Velde, for Florence de Brouckère, mother-in-law of Louis de Brouckère, and built in 1898, in Art Nouveau style.
The Monument to the Belgian Pioneers in Congo is an allegorical monument in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by the sculptor Thomas Vinçotte and crafted between 1911 and 1921 to commemorate the Congo Free State. In particular, it honours the Belgian 'pioneers' (soldiers) who brought 'civilisation' to the Congo, especially through the Congo–Arab War (1892–1894) that sought to conquer present-day East Congo and end the Arab slave trade there.
The Anspach Fountain is an eclectic-style fountain-obelisk erected between 1895 and 1897 in the centre of the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in Brussels, Belgium. Designed by the architect Charles-Émile Janlet, it is dedicated to the memory of Jules Anspach, a former mayor of the City of Brussels.
The equestrian statue of Leopold II is a bronze equestrian statue erected in Brussels, Belgium, in memory of King Leopold II, second King of the Belgians. It was created by the sculptor Thomas Vinçotte in 1914, but it was not finalised until 1926 by the architect François Malfait, when it was inaugurated in honour of the king.
The two façades connected by the corner tower
The corner tower
The console supporting the corner tower
The oriel
