inside art nouveau

For this private mansion, which had three façades, Horta made use of the layout and the particular orientation of the plot of land, positioning its bow window towards the Bois de la Cambre in order to optimise the introduction of natural light and to offer beautiful views. This façade, made entirely of sculpted blue stone, was extremely complex for the stonemasons to create. It was encircled by an enormous balcony, from which one could see the crowds of middle class families and people on horseback making their way to the wood on their Sunday outings.

A very large roof glazed with American coloured glass was positioned above the main staircase. This stairway provided access to lounges that were either hexagonal or octagonal; all had a significant amount of windows looking onto the avenue or the side garden. A billiard table took pride of place in the centre of the hall, next to the stairwell. Different woods were used for the furniture and the woodwork, depending on the lounge.

Under pressure from real estate speculation, this masterpiece was unfortunately demolished to make way for the eight-storey building occupying the site today. The furniture, some of which is currently exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, was divided between private and public collections following the demolition. The façade was dismantled and stored in a warehouse by the Brussels-Capital Region in the hope of one day reconstructing it in order to show it to the people of Brussels.