Horta and the Grammar of Art Nouveau

English-language book with translation of the essays at the back in Dutch and French.

Horta and the Grammar of Art Nouveau offers an innovative insight into the architectural approach of Victor Horta (1861–1947), whose creations between 1893 and 1905 were seminal to the development of Art Nouveau architecture. This book presents a new perspective on the work, context and toolbox of the most famous Belgian architect, teasing out what remains essential to Victor Horta’s Art Nouveau, apart from his style and its typical plantlike vocabulary. International experts shed new light on Horta’s architectural sources, how he conceived of his designs, and innovated the use of structure and light. The book also discusses the reception of Horta within the historiography of the Modern Movement and the relation between his work and the colonial enterprise of King Leopold II.

This publication is amply illustrated with maps, plans, plaster models and exceptional unpublished photographic material commissioned by Victor Horta himself. These archival sources are complemented by a series of photographs made by the architectural photographer Maxime Delvaux, specially made for this book. They offer a contemporary view of Horta’s buildings from the angle of the various themes discussed throughout the book.

Edited by Iwan Strauven (Professor of Architectural History, ULB) and Benjamin Zurstrassen (Curator of the Horta Museum).

Exhibition, BOZAR, Brussels, 18/10/2023 - 14/01/2024