Belgian Art Nouveau

Alongside Victor Horta, Paul Hankar is considered the ‘other’ father of Art Nouveau in Belgium. 

When he builds his own house and studio in Rue Defacqz in Brussels in 1893, he officially establishes himself as an independent architect. This architectural manifesto, like the Hotel Tassel (1893) designed by Victor Horta, marks the birth of Art Nouveau. 

Thanks to his teacher, the architect Hendrik Beyaert, an advocate of eclecticism and historicism, Paul Hankar’s style is strongly influenced by local architecture. His own sensitivity leads him to associate the English Arts and Crafts movement with Japanese architecture. His passion for archaeology is also evident. His renewal of the arts is a mixture of these different influences and not a figuration of nature.

Paul Hankar’s innovation lies not so much in the spatial structure of his buildings as in their formal language: the play of bricks, the particularly careful use of metal or stone, the often complementary colours and materials, and the refinement of the materials used are the main characteristics. 

Moreover, his search for dynamism is often manifested by a circular arrangement of elements or a representation of the breaking down of a movement. But let us not be mistaken: the ornament in his work is never gratuitous and has a function first of all. In this sense, his rationalism is influenced by the theories of the French architect Viollet-le-Duc. 

This style can also be found in the furniture he designs. His art thus tends to become total, invading all modes of expression. For the graphic arts (wallpapers, sgraffiti, etc.), he joins forces with Adolphe Crespin.

In 1897, Hankar is the chief architect of the Colonial Exhibition in Tervuren. In this capacity, he designs several rooms and gathers Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Henry van de Velde and Georges Hobé around him. The Art Nouveau style becomes fashionable and brings the architect fame. In addition to commissions for private mansions, he is now asked to design shops and restaurants. In the meantime, a new generation of talented young collaborators joins his studio: Émile Van Nooten, Paul Hamesse and Léon Sneyers.

He dies in 1901, at the height of his career.

1. 
Preparatory sketch of a candlestick and matchholder for the Hôtel Kleyer (Brussels, demolished)
ca. 1895
pencil on paper
Art & History Museum

2.
Candlestick for the Hôtel Kleyer 
(Brussels, demolished)
1898
wrought iron, brass
RES collection — Galerie St-John, Ghent

3.
Ornament for the artist’s personal house (Brussels)
ca. 1894
wrought iron
Design Museum Gent

4.
Details of stones from the enclosure wall of Albert Ciamberlani’s studio (Brussels, demolished)
ca. 1900
pencil, India ink on paper
Jeanine Goffette - Guy Vanbellingen Collection

5. 
Stool for the Peeters pharmacy 
(Brussels, demolished)
Model from the artist's personal house (Brussels)
ca. 1896
oak, metal, leather
Private collection, Belgium

6.
Piano stool for 
the Villa Les Glycines 
for Philippe Wolfers (La Hulpe)
ca. 1900
mahogany, leather
RES collection — Galerie St-John, Ghent

7. 
Stool for the artist’s personal house (Brussels)
ca. 1899
oak
Design Museum Gent

8. 
Stool for the Congolese section 
of the Brussels World Fair
ca. 1897
oak, brass, suede
Private collection, Belgium

(no number)
Seat for the Hotel Kleyer 
(Brussels, demolished)
Model from the artist's personal house (Brussels)
ca. 1897
mahogany, leather
Private Collection, Belgium 

9.
Adolphe Crespin (1859-1944)
Advertising poster for the architect Paul Hankar
1894
print on paper
Musée d’Ixelles

10.
Table for the Hôtel Renkin 
(Brussels, demolished)
ca.1897
mahogany, marble, onyx
Design Museum Gent

11.
Wall lamp for the artist’s personal house (Brussels)
ca. 1894
golden wrought iron
Design Museum Gent

12.
Element of a cupboard for the artist’s personal house (Brussels)
1893
pitch pine, elm, brass
Design Museum Gent

13.
Chair for the smoking room 
of the Villa Les Glycines 
for Philippe Wolfers (La Hulpe)
ca. 1900
oak, leather
Design Museum Gent

14.
Stool for the smoking room 
of the Villa Les Glycines 
for Philippe Wolfers (La Hulpe)
ca. 1900
mahogany, leather, bronze
Design Museum Gent

Gustave Serrurier-Bovy is the man who succeeded in spreading Belgian Art Nouveau on a large scale. 

Born in Liège and an architect by training, he initially produces furniture in a style strongly influenced by Arts and Crafts. 

His marriage in 1884 to Maria Bovy enables him to associate his name with that of a large company specialising in interior decoration: in 1888 the Serrurier-Bovy brand is born. 

Very enterprising, he takes part in art exhibitions in order to make himself known. Thus, in 1894, a set of English-style furniture, the “Chambre d’artisan”, is noted at the Libre Esthétique exhibitions. In 1897, Paul Hankar asks him to decorate a room at the Colonial Exhibition in Tervuren. His international breakthrough comes at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, when he and René Dulong, his future partner, design the Pavillon Bleu, a luxury restaurant located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Serrurier-Bovy is by then a flourishing business with showrooms in Liege, Brussels, Paris and Nice. The semi-industrial mass production of the furniture allows it to be widely distributed throughout Europe and the world. 

Serurrier-Bovy’s style is new. For Henry van de Velde, he is the only Belgian to have gone beyond the Arts and Crafts movement. The diversity of his interpretation of Art Nouveau can be explained by the adaptation of his style to his target audience: sober and English in the early years, sumptuous and exuberant around 1900 when the Parisian market attracts him, rational and functional when, from 1903 onwards, he diversifies his catalogue or when, in 1904, social demand comes into play. Despite this constant renewal and evolution, the designer’s hand remains recognisable by its rationalism, the quality of the execution and the dialogue between colours and materials. 

The personal home of the Serrurier-Bovys, the Villa L’Aube, is built in Liège in 1903. A meeting place for his friends, often from the artistic world, L’Aube is conceived as a total work of art, and a place where he likes to receive and convince potential clients.

The unexpected death of Gustave Serrurier in 1910 brought to an abrupt end to this creativity. The brand disappears a few years later.

1.
Model “Chambre d’artisan” armchair
1895
oak, brass
Design Museum Gent

2.
Chair
1897-1898
mahogany, leather
Design Museum Gent

3. 
Frame for a draft of the fresco Le Bois sacré cher aux arts et aux muses
by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898) exhibited at the artist’s personal home, the Villa L’Aube (Liège)
1883-1884
mahogany, brass, copper
Private collection

4.
Fragment of wallpaper for the Château de La Cheyrelle (Dienne)
ca. 1905
stencil painting on paper
Collection of the Maison Hannon
donation from Gallery Haesaerts-le Grelle

5.
Model “Silex” chair for the artist’s personal house, the Villa L’Aube (Liège)
ca. 1905
poplar, painted metal
Design Museum Gent

6. 
Model “C” bedroom chandelier
Serrurier & Cie
1904
iron, brass, glass
Arets Galleries

7. 
Model “C” bed
1904
painted metal, bronze, oak
Private collection, Brussels

8.
Coat rack
1905
enameled cast iron, iron, brass
Musées de la Ville d’eaux - Spa

9.
Psyché
Serrurier & Cie
1905
poplar, metal, stencil painting
Collection of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
on deposit at the Grand Curtius

10.
Model “Wagner” armchair
Serrurier & Cie
1902-1903
padouk, velvet, silk, bronze
Design Museum Gent

11.
Auguste Donnay (1862-1921) after a drawing by Armand Rassenfosse (1862-1934), project for the mosaic on the main façade of the artist’s personal home, the Villa L’Aube (Liège)
1903-1904
oil on canvas
Private collection

12.
Frame for a project for L’Aube by Armand Rassenfosse (1862-1934) exhibited at the artist’s personal home
1903-1904
padouk, brass, copper
Private collection, Belgium

13.
Bracelet
1905
gilt silver, semi-precious stones
Private collection, Belgium

14.
Pendant
1905
silver gilt, semi-precious stones
Private collection, France

15.
Letter opener and case
1905,
cotton, brass, carnelian, rosewood
Private collection, Belgium

16.
Soliflore
in collaboration with René Dulong (1860-1944) 
and the Cristalleries du Val Saint-Lambert
1904
brass, crystal
Design Museum Gent

17.
Menu holder
undated
brass, crystal
Private collection, France

18.
Frame for a portrait 
of Gustave Serrurier-Bovy 
by Armand Rassenfosse (1862-1934)
ca. 1910
oak, brass
Private collection, Belgium

19. 
Kitchen apron
ca. 1903-1904
cotton, silk
Private collection, Belgium

20.
Napkin
ca. 1903-1904
linen, cotton
Private collection, Belgium

21.
Napkin or chair headrest for the artist’s personal home
ca. 1903-1904
linen, cotton, silk
Private collection, Belgium

22.
Headrest
ca. 1903-1904
cotton
Private collection, Belgium

23.
Fragment of a bedspread or curtain for the
artist’s personal home (assumption)
ca. 1903-1904
cotton, stencil painting
Private collection, Belgium

24.
Tablecloth
ca. 1903-1904 (assumption)
textile, stencil painting
Private collection, Belgium

Henry van de Velde is considered one of the great theoreticians of Art Nouveau. 

Dissatisfied with his work as a painter, from 1892 onwards he seeks new means of artistic expression. The decorative and applied arts, which his companion Maria Sèthe also practices, become a field of experimentation for him, enabling him to assimilate the Arts and Crafts movement and to continue the process of reflection.

His theoretical vision, on which he gives lectures and publishes essays, covers a wide range of subjects such as the place of ornament, functionality or the production process. Anxious to associate technical progress with the production of quality utilitarian objects, he is one of the first, as early as 1894, to advocate the use of the industrial machine to relieve the work of workers and to encourage widespread distribution. In this sense, he can be considered the father of design in Belgium. 

Henry van de Velde’s credo is “line is strength”. This signature characterises his creations: the line, organically inspired but abstract, builds and decorates the object. This is true in a wide variety of disciplines: furniture, silverware, ceramics, etc. From his career as a painter, he retains his talent for colour combinations and his ability to create unity in furniture, decoration, works of art and architecture.

In 1900 Henry van de Velde moves to Germany, where his work is highly regarded. In Weimar he founds a school of decorative arts with a new system of education, characterised by practical work and diversity of training. He did not return to Belgium until 1926. At the request of the Belgian government, he founds the La Cambre school in Brussels, which is similar to his school in Weimar. Henry van de Velde thus becomes the precursor of a whole new generation of Belgian artists for whom Art Nouveau is an impulse and remains a state of mind.

1.
Wallpaper untitled
in collaboration with Maria Sèthe (1867-1943)
Mural reproduction by the Atelier d’Offard
1893-1896
Fonds van de Velde. ENSAV - La Cambre, Bruxelles
© SABAM Belgium 2023

2.
Wallpaper Tulipes
in collaboration with Maria Sèthe (1867-1943)
Reproduction
1893-1896
Fonds van de Velde. ENSAV - La Cambre, Bruxelles
© SABAM Belgium 2023

3.
Wallpaper Campanules
in collaboration with Maria Sèthe (1867-1943)
Reproduction
1893-1896
Fonds van de Velde. ENSAV - La Cambre, Bruxelles
© SABAM Belgium 2023

4.
Wallpaper motif dynamo-graphique
in collaboration with Maria Sèthe (1867- 1943)
Reproduction
1893-1896
Fonds van de Velde. ENSAV - La Cambre, Bruxelles
© SABAM Belgium 2023

5.
Wallpaper untitled 
in collaboration with Maria Sèthe (1867-1943)
Reproduction
1893-1895
Fonds van de Velde. ENSAV - La Cambre, Bruxelles
© SABAM Belgium 2023

7. 
Sellette for Louis Bauer
1896
padouk
Private collection, Brussels

8.
Armchair for Louis Bauer
1896
padouk, textile
Private collection, Brussels

9.
Display case
ca. 1896
padouk, white and colored glass
Design Museum Gent

10.
Piano bench for the artist’s personal home Les Hauts Peupliers (Weimar-Ehringsdorf, Germany)
1902
varnished pine
Design Museum Gent

11.
Chair for the Maison De Craene-van Mons
ca. 1899
brass, velvet, padauk
Design Museum Gent

12.
Model “E 118” ceiling light
ca. 1904
polished brass, glass
Klassik Stiftung Weimar

13.
Tiles (x 2)
Alexandre Bigot & Compagnie
1899
stoneware
Design Museum Gent

14.
Tile
Alexandre Bigot & Compagnie
1895
stoneware
Design Museum Gent

15.
The artist’s menu holder
1911
silver
Design Museum Gent

16.
Ring
1899
yellow and red gold, platinum, pearls and diamonds
King Baudouin Foundation Collection
Fonds Léon Courtin - Marcelle Bouché 
on deposit at the Art & History Museum

17.
Toothpick holder
1901
silver-plated metal
Design Museum Gent

18.
The artist’s tie pin
ca. 1900
silver
Design Museum Gent

19.
Inkwell
1898
bronze
Design Museum Gent

20.
Gravy boat, plate and bread plate
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
1903-1904
porcelain
Design Museum Gent

21.
Cup, saucer and plate for breakfast service
Burgau Porcelain Manufactory
1906
porcelain
Design Museum Gent

22.
Coffee spoon
1900-1999
silver
Design Museum Gent

23.
Model “I” pie server, sauce spoon, fruit fork, fish knife, fish fork and salt spoon
1902-1906
silver, vermeil
Design Museum Gent

24.
Model “III” dessert knife, fork and spoon
1910-1911
silver
Design Museum Gen

25.
Model “II” fork, spoon, dessert knife and knives
1905-1906
silver
Design Museum Gent

26.
Preparatory drawing for the cover of L'Art de la reliure en France aux derniers siècles by Edouard Fournier (1819-1880)
ca. 1893-1895
tracing paper, canvas, carbon, India ink, pencil
King Baudouin Foundation Collection, on deposit at the Wittockiana

27.
Mock-up “n°551” for unknown bookbinding
ca. 1898
pencil on vellum, canvas, pencil
King Baudouin Foundation Collection, on deposit at the Wittockiana

28.
Artist's personal folder with Campanule paper, 
ca. late 1895, paper, card, cotton, 
Collection Pascal and Louise de Sadeleer

29.
« Henry van de Velde »
L’Art décoratif, vol. I, J. Meier-Graeffe (Ed.)
Paris, october 1898 - march 1899
p. 8-9
Hortamuseum Collection, St Gilles / Gillis

30.
Cover for the first volume of Van Nu en Straks
A. Vermeylen, 
Antwerp, January 1896
print on paper
Maison Hannon collection

In 1883, the lawyer and essayist Octave Maus founds an artistic circle, the Groupe des XX, which is succeeded in 1894 by La Libre Esthétique. Among the founders are Fernand Dubois, James Ensor, Fernand Khnopff, Jef Lambeaux, Périclès Pantazis and Théo Van Rysselberghe, who are soon joined by Anna Boch, Félicien Rops, Georges Lemmen, Henry van de Velde, Auguste Rodin, George Minne and Paul Signac… The artists invited to exhibit were none other than Pissarro, Monet, Seurat, Caillebotte, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Cézanne, van Gogh… 

At the time, the hierarchy between the different types of art is still tenacious. The fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.) are considered major, as opposed to the decorative arts (ceramics, furniture, etc.) and applied arts (textiles, fashion, etc.), which are considered minor. Like Lemmen, van de Velde or Finch, the members of these avant-garde circles, which brought together a large number of artists from the fine arts, challenge conventions and explore new modes and media of expression.

At the Cristalleries du Val-Saint-Lambert (Liège), the artistic director Léon Ledru is the first to dare to integrate the Art Nouveau line into the catalogue by working on size and colour, anxious to meet the expectations of a public in search of novelty. 

Ten years later, the so-called “second generation”, i.e. the pupils or disciples of the architects, do not renounce what they had been taught. Those whose works are exhibited here are Léon Sneyers, Paul Hamesse and Fritz Seeldrayers, disciples of Paul Hankar. But who remembers them? Yet they made a substantial contribution to Belgian Art Nouveau, perpetuating the lessons from the masters: the line is a force, not a plant model to be imitated. Around 1900, it tends to disappear, in contact with other experiments or influences (Glasgow, Vienna, Darmstadt…), only to become a straight line…

1.
Alfred William Finch (1854-1930)
Tiles (x 2)
1895-1897
earthenware, slip, glaze
Design Museum Gent

2.
Alfred William Finch (1854-1930)
Tiles (x 2)
1895-1897
earthenware, slip, glaze
Design Museum Gent

3.
Alfred William Finch (1854-1930)
Vase
1895-1897
earthenware, slip, glaze
Design Museum Gent

4.
Alfred William Finch (1854-1930)
Vase
1895-1897
earthenware, slip, glaze
Design Museum Gent

5.
Georges Lemmen (1865-1916)
Cover for the exhibition catalogue of the XX
1893
print on paper
Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent

6.
Georges Lemmen (1865-1916)
Cover for the exhibition catalogue of the XX
1892
print on paper
Atelier Symboliste Collection

7.
Alfred William Finch (1854-1930)
Vase
1894
ceramic
RES collection — Galerie St-John, Ghent

8.
Gisbert Combaz (1869-1941)
Poster for the Salon of the Libre Esthétique
1901
ink on paper
Atelier Symboliste Collection

9.
Léon Sneyers (1877- 1949)
Frame for a photograph of Junon ! or the Fée au Paon by Philippe Wolfers (1901)
ca. 1902
oak, glass
King Baudouin Foundation
on deposit at the Art & History Museum

10.
Léon Sneyers (1877-1949)
Frame for a photograph of Philippe Wolfers’ Iris et Poissons vase (1897)
ca. 1902
oak, glass
King Baudouin Foundation
on deposit at the Art & History Museum

11.
Léon Sneyers (1877-1949)
Frame for a photograph of the Pavots ! vase by Philippe Wolfers (1897-1898)
ca. 1902
oak, glass
King Baudouin Foundation
on deposit at the Art & History Museum

12.
Léon Sneyers (1877-1949)
Frame for a photograph of the Salamandres ! vase by Philippe Wolfers (1898-1900)
ca. 1902
oak, glass
King Baudouin Foundation
on deposit at the Art & History Museum

13.
Fritz Seeldrayers (1878- 1963)
Mirror
1902
pitch pine, glass
Private collection, Brussels

15.
Antoine Pompe (1873-1980)
Study for Georges Hobé's contribution to the 1902 Turin Exhibition
1902
indian ink and watercolor on paper
Archives d'Architecture Moderne (AAM), CIVA, Fonds Hobé, Brussels

16. 
Léon Ledru (1855-1926)
and the crystal glassware manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert
Vase
1897-1905
crystal
Foundation Madeleine 7 Collection, Belgium

17.
Léon Ledru (1855-1926)
and the crystal glassware manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert
Cup
ca. 1897
crystal
Foundation Madeleine 7 Collection, Belgium

18.
Philippe Wolfers (1858-1929) 
and the crystal glassware manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert
Plume de Paon vase
1900, crystal
Foundation Madeleine 7 Collection, Belgium

19.
Léon Ledru (1855-1926) 
and the crystal glassware manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert
Vase
1897-1900
crystal
Foundation Madeleine 7 Collection, Belgium

20.
Léon Ledru (1855-1926) and the crystal glassware manufacturer Val-Saint-Lambert
U Esthétique vase
design created in 1901
model made in 1918
crystal
Foundation Madeleine 7 Collection, Belgium

21.
Gisbert Combaz (1869- 1941)
Les Éléments
1896
ink on paper
Atelier Symboliste Collection

22.
Gisbert Combaz (1869-1941)
Argo à la Toison d’Or
1897
print on paper
Private collection, Brussels

23.
Gisbert Combaz (1869-1941)
Poster project for the inauguration of the Saint-Gilles town hall
1904
charcoal, watercolour and ink on paper
Collection of the Commune of Saint-Gilles