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Horta. The Architect of the Art Noveau
Victor Horta (1861-1947) was one of the founders of the innovation that took place around 1900 as a reaction to the classicist, monumental architectural styles of the previous centuries. That innovation was characterised by the combination of different materials, such as glass and metal, introduced light into homes, and made asymmetry an essential stylistic element. This book explains how Victor Horta managed to turn the traditional formal idiom of his time into an innovative style, how his creations developed from wary interventions to paragons of an exuberant Mannerism, and how he eventually arrived at a reticent, linear style. The young Horta first broke with the classical stylistic forms, though in a modest way, in his pavilion for Jef Lambeaux' Human Passions relief in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark in Brussels. But then he came into contact with Japanese art and the Arts and Crafts Movement and its pioneer, William Morris. From that confrontation he developed the motifs and style for his later work, characterised by the organic, the hybrid, the magical. The Tassel house (1893), which marks the breakthrough of Art Nouveau, is the best expression of Horta's own style. You can follow the entire development of Victor Horta in this new standard work, illustrated with the latest photographs by Jacques Evrard and Christine Bastin. A beautiful book on a great architect.PressThe book offers an interesting trajectory with solid texts and breathtaking photographic material.Actief wonenAll these projects are presented in due order in the recent book 'Horta, architect van de art nouveau' by Françoise Aubry. The author is curator of the Horta Museum. The outstanding photographs by Christine Bastin and Jacques Evrard give the book an extra quality. Anyone who is familiar with Horta's oeuvre will find little new, but the real Horta fans will still go for it. De ArchitectThe only witness to speak about Horta's personality and artistic development, Aubry claims, is to be found in his work. The beautiful photographs in the book, written with a love for the subject, certainly support that conclusion.Vera Ros in MuseumtijdschriftA heartwarming, cosy book about architecture and beauty, introduced by an archival photograph that sets the tone: Horta strolling over the (North Sea?) beach, in a tailored suit, with polished shoes and a straw hat, surrounded by ladies in long, flapping summer dresses. 'Books are made also thanks to good godmothers who know how to make clothes in the colours of the time: thank you (...)'.Monumenten en Landschappen... Aubry writes for an interested lay public, not for fellow art historians - a great relief. This is the sort of intelligent coffee-table book which you start reading almost in spite of yourself.De standaard der Letteren Certainly, architecture was more than a passion for Horta, it was a veritable devotion.Les Nouvelles du Patrimoine
2005 24 x 30,5 cm 224 pp 140 Hardcover ISBN 978-90-5544-571-4 FR NUR 646 Euro 39,50