Programme
Visits / Exhibition
Horta Museum — Horta the Red
After completing a couple of major projects, the Hôtel Solvay and Hôtel Van Eetvelde, Victor Horta planned to build a house and studio for himself. With this in mind, he bought two plots in Rue Américaine/Amerikaanse straat in 1898. He would live and work in the two buildings until his move to Avenue Louise/Louizalaan in 1919, and went on making changes to them throughout this period. After passing through various hands, the house was bought by the Municipality of Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis in 1961 at the instigation of Jean Delhaye, with the studio following in 1973. A series of restorations returned the buildings to what they would have looked like in Horta's day. Inside, the murals, wrought iron, glazed brickwork and mosaics have been well preserved. The stairwell plays a major role in connecting spaces, its elegantly curving banister evoking Horta's penchant for soft lines and plant-like curves. Period objects and furniture also help bring this magnificent example of Brussels Art Nouveau to life. (Listed 16/10/1963)
The Maison du Peuple and Horta the Red exhibition is an ideal opportunity to share with Heritage Days visitors some of the work done around the iconic Maison du Peuple. This small exhibition, brought to life by the mediators, will be an opportunity to discover the social and reformist aspects of Horta's work, particularly visible in his collaboration with the cooperative movement and the forerunner of the Socialist Party. The previously unseen works presented for the first time, a selection of archives and documents on the Maison du Peuple bakery will give you a better understanding of Horta's social commitment.
Showcased across two floors of the studio, varied pieces of stonework and ironwork, archive materials, a model and films will help visitors to reconstruct this lost building. A combination of these historical and digital sources, plus a little imagination, will bring the Maison du Peuple and its spaces back to life.
A smaller-scale version of the exhibition will run until 1 October 2023.
Only the exhibition area will be open to the public free of charge. Visitors to the museum will have to buy a ticket as normal.
Guided tours in French Belgian Sign Language: Saturday at 13:00. In cooperation with Arts & Culture (more info and booking: https://heritagedays.urban.brussels/en/practicalities/).
Practical information
Sat. & Sun. 11:00 to 17:00
Rue Américaine/Amerikaanse straat 23 – Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis
Advance booking not required
Non accessible