New inspirations for a new art
At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was booming with industrialization, and at the same time undergoing major cultural and social reforms. Emerging artists also wanted to break away from rigid, sclerotic models, and came up with a new art... Art Nouveau. Innovative indeed, but nourished by numerous influences, among which three stand out: the work of Viollet-le-Duc, Japanese art and the Arts and Crafts movement. These currents shared characteristics that Art Nouveau would largely adopt: respect for materials, frankness and honesty in construction, the absence of distinction between minor and major arts, and the need to create an organic whole. From Japanese art, it also borrowed a relationship with nature, whose most subtle changes were to be expressed in art.
But Art Nouveau did not exclude the contributions of modernity. Where some detractors have seen the style as nothing more than a purposeless ornamental overload, it is in fact a hybrid art form that combines the splendor of ornamentation and functionalism in total works of art of great modernity, where everything, from the very structure of the building to the smallest decorative and utilitarian details, is designed to form an organic, fluid whole. In this way, Art Nouveau broke new ground by seeking to combine form, function and material, all of which must contribute to the aesthetic effect.
The material is the focal point of these new architectural forms. Expressive forms, rich and flexible, combine intimacy and power in the treatment and shaping of surfaces and textures. Each material is shown in its raw beauty, in particular iron, the great novelty of the period, seen in the exposed load-bearing structures supporting superb skylights, all in dialogue with wood, marble or brick, all traditional materials magnificently worked and chiselled. The iridescence of the plant and animal worlds inspires the artists to create astonishing color schemes in which emerald green, golden ochre and deep blue light up the space as they design the mosaics and skylights. Curves and counter-curves materialize the movements of these artists' souls, also deeply imbued with symbolism. This is why Art Nouveau is a highly personal style.
Brussels was a particularly fertile breeding ground for this artistic revival. At the time, the capital was a major financial center and a progressive city. Thus, on the one hand, the great magnates of the New World were generous patrons of Art Nouveau, commissioning numerous private mansions with self-aggrandizing ornamentation; on the other, architects designed utilitarian buildings for the general public (stores, Maisons du Peuple, etc.). Among the great figures of Art Nouveau whose work is representative of Brussels are Victor Horta, Paul Hankar and, to a lesser extent, Henry Van de Velde.
Horta imposes his style
Victor Horta was brought up as the son of a shoemaker, with a passion for hard work and beautiful, well-crafted objects. His uncle, a building contractor, took him to his building sites, and it was there that the young man developed a passion for architecture. After a hard-fought battle with his parents, who saw him as more of a lawyer or doctor, Horta became a student at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. After an internship with the Parisian architect-decorator Dubuysson, and an in-depth study of the great classical buildings, Horta excelled at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts. He then attracted the attention of architect Alphonse Balat, who designed the superb Royal Greenhouses at Laeken. The architectural possibilities of iron thus revealed were to have a profound effect on Horta.
He began a period of alternating competitions and small-scale construction, before joining the Masonic lodge "Les Amis Philanthropes". There, he met wealthy industrialists who commissioned him to design private mansions. The Hôtel Autrique still tends towards a certain classicism, while the Hôtel Tassel is considered the world's very first Art Nouveau building. The building is narrow. But to counteract this, Horta used a superb arched window flanked by two narrow ochre and bluestone surfaces slightly arched towards the center. Structures, columns and beams are exposed, freeing the light and giving the spaces lightness and transparency. Horta also used paint to extend the undulating movements of the other materials, creating a great organic harmony. He also innovated with his superb spiral staircase, entirely devoted to ornamentation, and the glass roof overhanging the circulation space between the different rooms of the house. The Hôtel Tassel is a manifesto of the Horta style. Lines inspired by the stems and feet of plants (for which Horta's style was dubbed the "whiplash" style), ironwork in scrolls and arabesques, luminous skylights and an eye for detail (Horta made absolutely everything, from carpets to radiators to light bulbs) are all to be found in the master's finest creations: the Hôtel Solvay, the Hôtel Van Eetvelde and, of course, his studio house. Horta also created utilitarian buildings where functionalism prevailed over ornamentation, as shown in the images of the Maison du Peuple, which was sadly destroyed in 1965. An architecture that heralds future developments. Indeed, as quickly as it came, Art Nouveau was gone, making way for more sobriety and geometry. Horta then embarked on a career as a teacher (notably in the USA), before returning to the drawing board to design large-scale projects, this time resolutely classical, such as the Brugmann Hospital, the Palais des Beaux-Arts(BOZAR) and Brussels Central Station. Despite these successes, Horta ended his career criticized... then forgotten. He was reborn in the 21st century, when his Brussels townhouses were listed by Unesco, and the Brussels Art Nouveau & Art Deco Festival showcased their superb interiors. 2023 celebrated the 130th anniversary of the Hôtel Tassel, and thus Art Nouveau, with the opening to the public of such jewels as the Maison Hannon (by Jules Brunfaut) and the Hôtel van Eetvelde. A unique heritage, witness to an era of astonishing upheaval.
