From 13 to 15 June 2025, admission to the Art&History Museum in Brussels will be free! Masterpieces await, and your wallet can take a break. The occasion is the opening of two new galleries dedicated to Belgian Art Nouveau, Art Deco and 19th-century decorative arts. The new rooms were designed by the Pièce Montée studio in Gentbrugge, which tastefully opted for the elegant restraint inherent in these styles.
The main sensation is the restored ‘Winter Garden’ of the Cousin mansion, designed by the architect number 1 Victor Horta. For the first time since the 1960s, when it was dismantled (along with the Maison du Peuple) on the initiative of architect Jean Delhaye, the pavilion has been reassembled in the museum’s halls. This unique space, made of steel, wood, stained glass and marble, impresses with its harmony of materials and play of light. The viewer’s eye is drawn into a visual game with crystal windows cut in the style of diamonds. Be sure to take a look at them – your perception of the art objects in the Garden will be enriched with new facets.
Werner Adriaenssens, curator of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco gallery and a leading expert on these styles, drew our attention to the 1897 Brussels International Exhibition, where Art Nouveau was introduced to the general public. Prior to this, the style had been the ‘secret knowledge’ of bourgeois salons. In the shadow of the Triumphal Arch in Cinquantenaire Park, art met ambition. A special tram took the public from the city centre to the green avenues of Tervuren Park, where the Colonial Exhibition was held — a showcase of the ‘benefits of civilisation’ and an unexpected springboard for the new artistic language of Art Nouveau. As one contemporary aptly noted, Africa ‘entered’ Europe through the gates of art. It was here that many Belgians first saw Art Nouveau and fell in love with it. The curved lines and shapes, seemingly inspired by nature, seemed exotic, although the exhibits had little in common with true African aesthetics. The style even received the temporary name Congo style, more because of its geographical connection than its artistic similarity. Yes, in an era when empires sought to conquer territories, art conquered audiences. Today, the colonial legacy is being critically re-evaluated, but the artistic significance of that exhibition remains a key milestone in the history of Belgian Art Nouveau. Personally, I am glad that the ‘exposure of colonialism’ is taking normal, non-radical, non-‘cancelling’ forms.
An interesting fact is that ivory (white gold) was provided to artists free of charge on the condition that they create something worthy of the exhibition. And they did not disappoint: the art truly shone, both literally and metaphorically.
The organiser of this large-scale event was Edmond van Eetvelde (you have probably visited his mansion, if not, it is a must-see), Secretary of State of the État indépendant du Congo, King Leopold II’s ‘private’ colony. An aesthete with refined taste, a collector and patron of the arts, he commissioned the stars of Belgian Art Nouveau to design the exhibition: Paul Hankar, Henry van de Velde, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy and Georges Hobé. Their decorations transformed the pavilions into fairy-tale palaces made of wood, glass and iron – the elegance of the new style met with the harsh reality of colonialism.
In the second room, Sophie Belles, curator of the 19th-century decorative arts gallery, gave us a visual glimpse into a time when Europe was rapidly changing under the influence of urbanisation, technological progress and the emergence of a new class: the bourgeoisie. The styles are presented in chronological order: Empire and Restoration to Neo-Gothic and Eclecticism. The emphasis is on the domestic side of life, from dining etiquette and fashion to children’s games, hygiene and travel. The Verhaeghe de Naeyer family collection, donated to the museum in 1943, occupies a special place.
