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Victor Horta
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Victor Baron Horta |
| Art Encyclopedia: Victor Horta |
(b Ghent, 6 Jan 1861; d Brussels, 8 Sept 1947). Belgian architect and teacher. Although his work was confined almost entirely to Brussels, the ten years (1893-1903) of his active career working in the Art Nouveau style had a revolutionary effect on European perceptions of 19th-century rules of design. Apart from initiating and developing the style in Brussels, creating in particular interiors in which his furniture and decoration were remarkable for their stylistic unity and were in complete opposition to the eclecticism of 'conventional' contemporary interior decoration, he was one of the first architects to consider the potential of the open plan. He also applied the rationalist principles of Eug?ne-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc regarding the exposure of the iron structures of his buildings, and he was the first to make extensive use of cast iron in domestic architecture, combining the taste of an artist with the skill of an engineer in fashioning iron into the sinuous organic outlines characteristic of Art Nouveau. After 1903, Horta abandoned the style and his later output demonstrates a safer and more academic approach.
See the Abbreviations for further details.
| Modern Design Dictionary: Victor Horta |
(1861-1947)
A leading Belgian Art Nouveau architect and designer best known for his buildings, interiors, furniture, and furnishings in Brussels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Horta studied drawing, textiles, and architecture at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Ghent from 1874 to 1877, before going on to work in Paris until 1881 to 1884 at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. His work over a ten-year period from 1893 marked his involvement with the flowing forms of Art Nouveau and was characterized by the idea of the ‘total work of art’ in which furniture, furnishings, and interior decoration were part of a fully integrated building. Horta was influenced by the rationalist principles of Viollet-Le-Duc as revealed in the decorative use of structural ironwork that became a hallmark of his buildings. His first major work was the Hôtel Tassel (1892-3) for the engineer Émile Tassel, in which he paid close attention to ornament and decoration, making considerable use of organic motifs drawn from nature and the expressive form of the ‘whiplash’ as in the dramatic iron staircase. His most extravagant building was perhaps the Hôtel Solvay (1895-1900) for the industrialist Armand Solvay. He also designed the Maison du Peuple (1895), making considerable use of iron and glass. Not only was Horta aesthetically progressive in his rejection of historicist forms he also used electricity to light his buildings. He was well connected in Art Nouveau circles, designing a shop façade (not executed) for the Art Nouveau entrepreneur Samuel Bing in Paris, and his work was featured in the inaugural issue of the periodical Art et décoration in 1897. He also designed furniture and decorations for the Brussels Pavilion at the Turin Esposizione Internationale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna of 1902, one of the last major exhibitions of Art Nouveau buildings and design. After the early years of the 20th century Horta's work took on a more academic direction and from 1912 he was a professor at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels where he became the director from 1927 to 1931.
| Architecture and Landscaping: Baron Victor Horta |
(1861–1947)
Belgian architect, one of the most brilliant protagonists of
Bibliography
- Aubry et al. (1996)
- F. Borsi (1969)
- Delevoy (1958)
- Dernie et al. (1995)
- Hoppenbrouwers et al. (1975)
- Hustache (1994)
- Loo (ed.) (2003)
- Loyer (1986)
- Placzek (ed.) (1982)
- Tschudi-Madsen (1967)
- Jane Turner (1996)
The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Baron Victor Horta |
Horta, Victor, Baron, 1861-1947, Belgian architect. The Tassel House in Brussels (1892-93), his first mature work, was the earliest monument of art nouveau. It was excelled only by his later works, such as the Baron von Eetvelde house (1895) and the demolished Maison du Peuple (1896-99), both in Brussels. The houses are especially significant for their interior architecture. The irregularly shaped rooms open freely onto one another at different levels. The plantlike design of the iron balustrade is echoed in the curving decorative lines of the mosaic floors, plaster walls, and other surfaces. Horta later reverted to a more traditional mode of architectural expression.
| Wikipedia: Victor Horta |
| Victor Horta | |
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Victor Horta |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Birth date | 6 January 1861 |
| Birth place | Ghent, Belgium |
| Date of death | 8 September 1947 (aged 86) |
| Place of death | Brussels, Belgium |
| Work | |
| Significant buildings | Hôtel Tassel House and Studio Victor Horta |
| Significant projects | Brussels-Central railway station |
| Awards and prizes | Titled "Baron" by King Albert I of Belgium |
Victor, Baron Horta (6 January 1861 - 9 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer. John Julius Norwich described him as "undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect." Indeed, Horta is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture; the construction of his Hôtel Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3 means that he is sometimes credited as the first to introduce the style to architecture from the decorative arts. The French architect Hector Guimard was deeply influenced by Horta and further spread the "whiplash" style in France and abroad. 1932 King Albert I of Belgium had conferred the title Baron on him for services to architecture.
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Life and career
Born in Ghent, he was first attracted to the architectural profession when he helped his uncle on a building site at the age of twelve. He studied in Ghent, but left to become an interior designer living in Montmartre in Paris. There, he was inspired by the emerging impressionist and pointillist artists, and also by the possibilities of working in iron and glass.
When Horta's father died in 1880, he returned to Belgium and moved to Brussels, to study at the academy of fine arts. He married, and fathered two daughters.
In Brussels, Horta built a friendship with Paul Hankar, later also to embrace Art Nouveau. Horta did well in his studies, and was taken on as an assistant by his professor Alphonse Balat, architect to Leopold II of Belgium. Together, they designed the royal Greenhouses of Laeken, Horta's first work to utilise glass and iron.
By 1885, Horta was working on his own, and designed three houses which were built that year. He then decided to avoid residential work for wealthy clients and instead devoted himself to competitions for public work, including statuary and even tombs. He focused on the curvature of his designs, believing that the forms he produced were highly practical and not artistic affectations.
After introducing Art Nouveau in an exhibition held in 1892, Horta was inspired. Commissioned to design a home for professor Tassel, he transfused the recent influences into Hôtel Tassel, completed in 1893. Incorporating interior iron structure with curvilinear botanical forms, which was known as “biomorphic whiplash,” and successfully created the first Art Nouveau architecture. Ornate and elaborate designs and natural lighting were concealed behind a stone façade to harmonize the building with the more rigid houses next door.
During this period, Horta socialised widely and joined the freemasons, he was a member of the lodge Les Amis Philanthropes of the Grand Orient of Belgium in Brussels. This ensured a stream of clients when he returned to designing houses and shops from 1893. After receiving great notoriety for his designs, Horta was commissioned to complete many other important buildings throughout Brussels. Enhancing this new architectural style, Horta designed the Hôtel Solvay (1895–1900) and his own residence (1898) employing iron and stone façade with elaborate iron interiors.
After Art Nouveau lost favor, many of Horta's buildings were destroyed, most notably the Maison du Peuple (1895-1899) built for the progressive political party, the Belgian Labour Party and demolished in 1965. However, several of Horta’s buildings are still standing in Brussels to today and available to tour. Most notably are the Magasins Waucquez, formerly a department store, now the Brussels Comic Book Museum and four of his private houses (hôtels), which were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site:
- Hôtel Tassel, designed and built for Prof. Émile Tassel in 1892 - 1893.
- Hôtel Solvay, designed and built 1895 - 1900.
- Hôtel van Eetvelde, designed and built 1895 - 1898.
- Maison and Atelier Horta, designed in 1898, now the Horta Museum, dedicated to his work.
List of Works
- 1889 : Temple of Human Passions, Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels (protected monument since 1976)
- 1890 : Maison Matyn, rue Bordeauxstraat 50, 1060 Saint-Gilles
- 1890 : Renovations and interior decoration to the Brussels residence of Henri van Cutsem, Kunstlaan / Avenue des Arts 16, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Today Charlier museum).
- 1892-1893 : Hôtel Tassel, rue Paul-Emile Jansonstraat 6 in Brussels
- 1893 : Maison Autrique, Haachtsesteenweg/Chaussée de Haecht 266 in Schaerbeek
- 1894 : Hôtel Winssinger, Munthofstraat / rue de l'hotel du Monnaie 66 in Saint-Gilles
- 1894 : Hôtel Frison, rue Lebeaustraat 37 in Brussels
- 1894 : Atelier for Godefroid Devreese, Vleugelstraat / rue de l'aile 71 in Schaerbeek (modified)
- 1894 : Hôtel Solvay, Avenue Louise 224 in Brussels.
- 1895 : Interior decoration of the house of Anna Boch, Boulevard du Toison d'Or / Guldenvlieslaan 78 in Saint-Gilles (demolished)
- 1895-1898 : Hôtel van Eetvelde, Avenue Palmerstonlaan 2/6 in Brussels
- 1896-1898 : Maison du Peuple / Volkshuis, place Vanderveldeplein in Brussels (demolished in 1965)
- 1897-1899 : Kindergarten, rue Sainte-Ghislaine / Sint-Gisleinstraat 40 in Brussels
- 1898-1900 : House and Studio of Victor Horta, rue américaine / Amerikaansestraat 23-25 in Saint-Gilles (today the Horta Museum ).
- 1899 : Maison Frison "Les Épinglettes", Ringlaan 70 in Uccle
- 1899 : Hôtel Aubecq, Avenue Louise 520 in Brussels (demolished in 1950)
- 1899-1903: Villa Carpentier (Les Platanes), Doorniksesteenweg 9-11 in Ronse
- 1900 : Extension of the Maison Furnémont, rue Gatti de Gamondstraat 149 in Uccle
- 1900 : Department store: A l'Innovation, rue Neuve 111 in Brussels (destroyed by fire in 1967)
- 1901 : House and Studio for the sculptor Fernant Dubois, Avenue Brugmannlaan 80 in Forest, Belgium
- 1901 : House and Studio for the sculptor Pieter-Jan Braecke, rue de l'Abdication / Troonafstandstraat 51 in Brussels
- 1902 : Hôtel Max Hallet, Avenue Louise 346 in Brussels.
- 1903 : Ilse Conrat is the author of the Funeral monument for the composer Johannes Brahms on the "Zentralfriedhof" in Vienna she consulted with him but all reviews and press releases mention only her as the artist ])
- 1903 : Magasins Waucquez, rue du Sable / Zandstraat 20 in Brussels (since 1989 Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art.
- 1903 : House for the art critic Sander Pierron, rue de l'Acqueduc / Waterleidingsstraat 157 in Ixelles
- 1903 : Grand Bazar Anspach, Bisschopsstraat / rue de l'Evêque 66 in Brussels (demolished)
- 1903 : Maison Emile Vinck, rue de Washingtonstraat 85, Ixelles (converted in 1927 by architect A.Blomme).
- 1903 : Department store: A l'Innovation, Chausée d'Ixelles / Elsenesteenweg 63-65 in Ixelles (converted)
- 1904 : Gym for the boarding school "Les Peupliers" in Vilvoorde.
- 1905 : Villa Fernand Dubois, rue Maredretstraat, Sosoye.
- 1906 : Bruggemann Hospital, Place Van Gehuchtplein in Jette; (First design; opened in 1923)
- 1907 : Magasins Hicklet, Nieuwstraat / rue Neuve 20 in Brussels (converted)
- 1909 : Wolfers Jewellers Shop, rue d'Arenberg / Arenbergstraat 11-13 in Brussels.
- 1910 : House for dr. Terwagne, Van Rijkswijcklaan 62, Antwerp.
- 1911 : Magasins Absalon, rue Saint-Christophe / Sint-Kristoffelstraat 41 in Brussels
- 1911 : Maison Wiener, Sterrekundelaan / avenue de l'Astronomie in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (demolished)
- 1912 : Brussels-Central railway station (first designs; completed by Maxime Brunfaut and inaugurated in 1952).
- 1920 : Centre for Fine Arts, rue Ravensteinstraat in Brussels (first deign; opened in 1928).
- 1925 : Belgian pavilion at the Exposition des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris in 1925.
- 1928 : Musée des Beaux-Arts Tournai in Tournai.
Victor Horta was interred in the Ixelles Cemetery in Brussels.
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Notes
References
- Aubry, Françoise; Vandenbreeden, Jos (1996). Horta — Art Nouveau to Modernism. Ghent: Ludion Press. ISBN 0810963337.
- Cuito, Aurora (2003). Victor Horta. New York: Te Neues Publishing Company. ISBN 3823855425.
- Dernie, David (1995). Victor Horta. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 1854904183.
External links
- Hortamuseum Brussel
- Victor Horta
- Horta Museum
- Cupola's Art Nouveau Architecture Gallery One at www.cupola.com
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