Victor Horta 1861-1947
by Sarah Hettinger
1. A Closer Look
1.1. Victor Horta became the first artist to bring Art Nouveau to the medium of architecture with his creation of the Hôtel Tassel in Belgium. This building was made with three floors that also included an attic and a service basement. The main lobby was the center of the home and was the area in which you would use to get to any other part of the house. From a distance the home looks like a typical home in Brussels but as you approach you start to see the work with cast iron that Horta specialized in. This is the material he used to create the railings on each of the balconies and you can see the flowing swirls that were meant to mimic nature in a more creative way. The windows were also made of slightly stained glass which was also a new design during this time period. As you enter the home, the swirls from the outside engulf the belly of the home. The feeling is almost as if you were an ant crawling around the top of a pumpkin with the way the lines dance around the walls from floor to ceiling. The tiled flooring is simple yet elegant and to the side is a staircase with an iron railing to match the outside. On the top floor was the smoking room and it is completely lit by natural light from the stained glass that was used. The light radiates down to the bottom floor and that initial staircase has a mural on the wall that resembles a plant with multiple vines crawling up the walls. These vine-like images reach towards the top of the home and look to be climbing the walls just like a plant searches for light in nature. Being that nature was a huge inspiration for the works in the Art Nouveau movement it’s extremely easy to see the depiction in this home. Throughout the home are support beams that all have swirling cast iron at the top making the home cohesive inside and out. The pattern of the vines is also a common theme in many corners of the rooms. After the Hôtel Tassel was completed it appeared in many newspapers and suddenly the style was considered the only type of true architecture. His influence was mimicked all over Europe even though many artists couldn’t fully understand where he got his ideas from. The neighborhood around the home suddenly started to look extremely similar and his work was being sought after for more high class homes. He later went on to create more memorable buildings which would include the Hôtel Solvay, the Hôtel Autrique, and the Maison du Peuple.
2. Evaluation
2.1. Keri Robles
2.2. Sarah Hettinger
2.3. Danny Mejia
3. Victor Horta Connections
3.1. Hector Guimard 1867 - 1942
3.1.1. Heavily influenced by Victor Horta, Hector Guimard was another artist that portrayed the essence of Art Nouveau. He was most well known for his beautiful entrances to the Paris Metropolitan.
3.1.2. These are a couple of the entrances to the Metropolitan in Paris. You can see the use of glass and iron, the curvature of lines, and the influence of nature, all of which we see in Victor Horta's art. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought they were the work of Horta.
3.1.3. One of the 141 Metroplitan Entrances
3.1.4. Here is another entrance of the Metropolitan
3.2. Denver International Airport
3.2.1. Of the influences that we see today, Denver International Airport seems to pay homage to Horta's work. We can clearly see the influence of nature as majestic, giant mountains hover in the background. The smooth curvature of the analogous peaks lend well to Horta's style. Nature is beautifully replicated here, not with vines, but with white summits that emulates the snow covered Rocky Mountains.
3.3. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) Pavillion is another example of Victor Horta's influence on today's art. It is replication of the sand dune there. It has the soft gentle earth tones that sand had and a sensual curvature just as the sand dunes would.
4. Life
4.1. Victor
4.2. Victor Horta was born in Ghent Belgium on January 6th 1861. When Victor was a young boy, age 12 he started to show some interest in architecture wile with his uncle on building sites. His first actual concentration of the arts was music. He studied music for a short while at a conservatory in Ghent which he ultimately got expelled for bad behavior. The later expressions of his architecture shows foundation and influences from his love of music. At age 15 he won his first award in architecture, and at that time a family member encouraged him to take this genre seriously because of his true talent. He took on an internship with the classical architect, Alphonse Balat who had a lasting impression on him. In 1880 he was married and moved to Brussels where he enrolled at Brussel Ecoledes Beaux Arts in 1881. He finished there in 1884 with a gold medal. At one point he moved to Paris for a few years and worked as an architect and decorator. He gained appreciation and the craving for the work in architecture visiting multiple monuments and museums in Paris. He wrote about his experience stating “All open wide the doors to my artistic heart, no school could have taught me better, the enthusiasm for architecture which stayed with me forever”. Victor Horta then became best known for the creator of Art Nouveau. His inspirations were from nature, but he never imitated natural shapes. He used combinations in his creations which were Iron, glass, stone, and wood. The forms that were created to influence human behavior, while creating an abstract model of that behavior. In his more famous buildings he had the intention to create comfort and space with a little breathing room by utilizing glass and the means to express vital rhythms to help liberate one’s energy”. The motto of Art Nouveau was “Art in nature, nature in art. Victor was the pioneer and best known for the beautiful creations of glass and cast iron designs in public buildings as well as private residences. His life ended in September of 1947 in Brussels Belgium, but his work will live on and impression he left from the expression of natures design.
5. Historical Context
5.1. At the end of the nineteenth century and into the beginning years of the twentieth, art took on a new form in what would be known as Art Nouveau. Belgian architect Victor Horta had just finished his schooling and was greatly influenced by the popular French architect Eugéne Viollet-Le-Duc who was known for his works with cast iron. While Art Nouveau was running rampant all over the globe, it went by different names. In Belgium, because of his notoriety and great works, it was called Style Horta, and four of his greatest creations came out of there. In this age, the artists were wanting to create art that was influenced by nature but in a more whimsical and creative way as opposed to a direct copy like what had been done previously. During this time, science and industry had made huge advancements and so the artists were looking to create something new that was a bit more abstract. Horta’s reaction to Viollet-Le-Duc’s work with cast iron is clearly displayed in four of the townhouses he created in Belgium. He used this on the outside as well as the inside of the homes with curves and arabesques in ways never before seen. Mimicking the look of vines and flower stems he twisted the cast iron and also used stained glass which was another new medium during the 1890s. His first creation, the Hôtel Tassel, was the first known work of Art Nouveau in architecture and his work would later become known as some of the greatest pieces of High Art Nouveau.
6. Great Works
6.1. Hotel Van Eetvelde, Brussels (1895-1901)
6.2. 4 Avenue Palmerston, Brussels
6.3. One of the Four well known townhouses that were designed by Victor Horta. Edmond Van Eetvelde wanted to have more space as a family house. Victor Utilized Iron frames and stone work as well as columns in the entrance of the east wing, which incorporated some of his classical influences. At the top of the stairs there is and infiltration of natural light and is the focal point of the house. There is also a beautiful stained glass dome that is at the top of the central patio.
6.4. The Hotel Solvay, Bruseels (1894-1898)
6.5. 224 Avenue Lousie
6.5.1. Hotel Solvay is the most prestigious built townhouses of Victor Horta. Armad Solvay commissioned Horta to design the house. Horta at the time was the most expensive architect in Brussels, but well worth it. to Sovay. It was built with intricate detail that showcased a beautiful double swirling staircase made with wrought iron and green,marble. He created luminous space with using abundant light and glass. There was is a large skylight in the roof that steamed light down the stairs He decorated it with his well known fluid curved lines but never in repetition. He also created a advanced ventilation system and air warming for the Solvay house. The front entrance has double wood panel doors that has glass and wrought iron used as decorative pieces. This house is what sealed Hortas fame!