Tentoonstelling Belgische Art Nouveau and Art Deco

Decorative arts of the 19th Century, Belgische Art Nouveau and Art Deco Sinds June 13, 2025, the Museum Kunst & History is in the context of Het Jaar van Art Deco. An impressive overview of the rich collections of furniture and utensils from the 19th century, and from the later periods of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, is presented. These spectacular collections remained hidden from the public for years. The emphasis is on Art Nouveau, the style that originated in Belgium around 1900 and experienced unprecedented prosperity there. We get a clear overview of the formal diversity that is so characteristic of this movement in prosperous Belgium. In addition to impressive achievements by grandmasters such as Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, there is ample attention for other leading architects and designers, such as Paul Hankar, Léon Sneyers, Paul Hamesse, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, Oscar van de Voorde, and many others. The absolute showpiece is the winter garden that Victor Horta designed for the Brussels engineer Jean Cousin. This monumental construction, dismantled in the sixties, has now been completely restored and rebuilt in the exhibition. Ook de Belgische Art Deco gets a prominent place in the same room. This style had a breakthrough in 1925 during the Internationale Tentoonstelling van Moderne Decoratieve and Industriële Kunsten in Paris, where Belgium shone with its entries. Echoes of that triumph can be seen here, alongside numerous other striking examples of Belgian Art Deco from the interwar period. The overview runs until the year 1940. Led by a guide, we will go exploring.