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Brussels Art Nouveau an introduction by Senses - Art Nouveau .com
Brussels,
Capital of Art Nouveau
Many European cities saw the explosion Art Nouveau, but only Brussels is nowadays considered the Capital of Art Nouveau (instead of Nancy, Barcelona, Darmstadt, Munchen, Vienna, Glasgow, Prague or Paris), because of the simultaneous presence of the following:
- the two first ever Art Nouveau buildings were built here in 1893: the Hotel Tassel by Victor Horta and his personal house by Paul Hankar;
- many great architects, so different in style, such as Belgians Victor Horta or Henri van de Velde but also Austrian Josef Hoffmann, decided to develop their innovative ideas in Brussels;
- the great number of artists that in their own specialty, and often in their multiple ones, completed the Art Nouveau "invasion" of Brussels, from furniture designer Serrurier-Bovy, to the jeweler Wolfers or even to Gustav Klimt;
- the fact that many other artists (as French Art Nouveau architect Guimard or musician Debussy) came to Brussels to get inspiration or to produce themselves for the first time in a more liberal city;
- the complete support that local authorities and the wealthiest families gave to the "project" and from the earliest stages of this new artistic movement;
- the diversity of Art Nouveau buildings, different in size, style and destination as they span from palaces or department stores to little town houses and from concert halls to schools or shops;
- and last but not least, the important number of Art Nouveau buildings still existing, considering that many were destroyed or severely damaged : 1200 of them are available to the public, even if most only from the outside.
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