Immerse yourself in Art Nouveau (Musee Horta)

Member Name: caro

Product:	Musee Horta
Date:	01/06/01 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, unique

Disadvantages: Expensive, lots of stairs, not suitable for children

Brussels is renowned for its Art Nouveau architecture, although many of its finest buildings were demolished, particularly during redevelopments in the 1960s. However, one of the most special buildings has survived and is open to the public. It is the former home and studio (between 1898 and 1919) of prominent Brussels architect Victor Horta, now the Musee Horta.

Victor Horta, born in Brussels in 1861, trained in Ghent and worked in Paris before returning to Brussels. He designed many Art Nouveau buildings for the city, using asymmetrical designs based on organic forms. These included department stores, a hotel, the Maison du Peuple, and houses including his own. He died in the city in 1947. Such is his prominence in Belgium that he appears on the 2000 Franc note.

The building is a little out of the city centre, in an area of the city rich in Art Nouveau architecture. However, don’t be put off by the location: it’s a short, easy journey by bus or tram.

When you enter the building, you can leave your coat and bag in the free cloakroom. This is invaluable, as you really do need to be unencumbered to enjoy your walk around the house. The shop is also in this downstairs room. However, after leaving your coat, walk into the other side of the house and up the stairs: you buy your ticket on the first floor. As so often in Brussels, service is not overly friendly.

You can also buy a guide here, in a choice of several languages including English. However, be warned that although it has wonderful pictures and some useful information, it is not a guide for touring the house as such. (It does provide information for each room although you may need to search a little). Indeed, this is the biggest weakness of the museum: there is very little information available to visitors. Only artworks by people other than Horta himself are labelled, and there are almost no information panels. This can make the visitor fee
l slightly disorientated.

However, even with limited information, it is difficult not to be impressed by the building. It is beautifully lit, particularly the main staircase which has its own lightwell (a characteristic of Horta buildings), and appears bright and spacious although in reality every inch of space is carefully used. In some places, particularly around Horta’s bedroom, rooms lead off each other in an almost maze-like series of interconnections, creating a sense of surprise and excitement which belies the relatively small floor area actually available.

Perhaps most absorbing is the attention to detail in the house. Pause to look at every detail: even keyholes are beautifully designed. Shelves and cases hold work by other Art Nouveau artists and architects, or fragments salvaged from other Horta buildings. Furniture has been created for each room. You really need to take the time to wander slowly through the house, absorbing both general impressions and the myriad little details. All of these were designed by Horta himself, including furniture and fittings such as heaters and lamps.

In the basement are photographs, models and details from Horta’s work. These are interesting to browse around for a better idea of the architect’s achievements. Saldy, many were among those which have been demolished, but if your appetite has now been whetted for other Art Nouveau buildings, your ticket has a useful map of others in the locality.

I visited the museum on a Wednesday in April. Apart from a small group of students (easily avoided), the museum was very quiet with only a few visitors. Such peace is important in appreciating the building: you literally wander at will through the rooms, some of which are quite small. It would be hard to enjoy this, or to get a proper impression of the main staircase with its different flights of steps carefully varied in size and shape, if it were full of other
visitors! For this reason, most guides recommend visiting on weekdays rather than weekends, advice which I would endorse. As a bonus, weekday visits are also cheaper.

The shop has postcards and prints, but much of what it sells is aimed at enthusiasts. There are a wide range of books on Horta and Art Nouveau generally, and some attractive but rather expensive Art Nouveau jewellery. The shop does have some seating, which is very welcome as there is nowhere else in the house to sit down. This and the number of stairs mean that the museum is not really suitable for people with limited mobility.

There is no café in the museum, but a number of cafes and bars in the locality.

In summary, this is a fascinating and unique museum which I found well worth a visit. However, it is unlikely to take more than an hour to tour unless you are a real Art Nouveau enthusiast, and is rather expensive. I imagine that children would find little to interest them here. If it does sound interesting to you, though, do give it a try: it’s a very unusual and special museum.


Practical information:

Musee Horta, 25 rue Americaine, 1060 Brussels
Open daily except Monday, 2-5.30pm

Admission 150 BEF; weekends, 200 BEF (concessions 100/150F).

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