Friday the 6th of June 2008
PARTNERS SOCIAL PROGRAMME
We gather at 9h45 in the lobby of the Radisson SAS.
Guided tour:
"Brussels, the town of art nouveau"
10h-13h
During our working day on Friday our partners will have the opportunity to see
the exceptional art nouveau architecture in Brussels. Probably a less known
richness of Brussels.
Art Nouveau had its moment of glory throughout Brussels at the turn of the 20th
century. It is the city "par excellence" in which this very special liberal style
has been given free rein.
"Why don't we change everything?"
In an age when neo-classical architecture was in full swing, Victor Horta's
question was to undermine existing conceptions and bring new talents to the
fore.
By playing with different spaces, by exploiting all the resources offered by
lights and colours, and submitting shapes and materials to the will of his
pencil, Horta was the precursor of a revolutionary, vibrant and inspired Art
Nouveau.
The Brussels scene quickly became a hive of frenzied activity thanks to the
contributions made by the colleagues of this visionary, who included Hankar,
Strauven, Blérot, the Delune brothers, Cauchie... and more than twenty others.
Without copying one another or even falling prey to imitation, all seemed to be
guided towards an objective that was both aesthetic and spiritual: the creation
of a catalogue of lines, shapes and atmospheres that had no parallel.
Links
"The boom of Art Nouveau in Brussels between 1893 and 1905 deeply modified
the look of the city. If the houses of the great architects (Victor Horta and
Paul Hankar) can be considered as total works of art, hundreds of others with
original facades are individualised by an artistic approach of the details:
ironworks, sgraffito, ceramics, woodwork, sculpted stone. Initially
distinguished by the arabesque, the Belgian Art Nouveau adopts at the turn of
the century more geometric shapes influenced by the Viennese secession.
Nowadays, the Art Nouveau of Brussels is internationally renowned and
contributes greatly to the pleasure of discovering the tow, especially during
the Art Nouveau Biennale, which will show the most secret aspects of the style."
Françoise Aubry
Curator of the Horta Museum
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