{
  "id": 5067257,
  "title": "‘You have to take care’: behind the painstaking restoration of a rare early Art Nouveau house in Brussels",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/you-have-to-take-care-behind-the-painstaking-restoration-of-a-rare",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-02T10:44:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Art Newspaper",
    "slug": "the-art-newspaper",
    "url": "https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/09/02/you-have-to-take-care-behind-the-painstaking-restoration-of-a-rare-early-art-nouveau-house-in-brussels"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the Saint-Gilles district of Brussels, scaffolding encases a pristine yellow mansion adorned with ornate wooden doors and wrought iron details, housing the Horta Museum. Completed in 1901, the residence was once the home and studio of the famed Belgian architect, Victor Horta, and stands as a rare example of early Art Nouveau architecture. Recently, the Saint-Gilles municipality allocated €800,000 to a restoration program aimed at breathing new life into Horta's vision. The residence remains open to the public during ongoing renovations, enabling visitors to observe the meticulous efforts required to safeguard the early-20th-century masterpiece.\n\nElisabeth Horth, the museum's head of historical heritage, explains that Horta utilized his house to showcase his distinctive style, a blend of industrial elements such as iron and brickwork, organic floral forms, and even touches of Belgian colonial aesthetics. Within his own home, Horta incorporated his signature features, including curvilinear motifs that gracefully transitioned from mosaic floors to silk wallpaper and carved rare woods. The central four-storey staircase ascends like a conch shell towards a domed skylight, framed by wrought iron and mirrors to diffuse natural light.\n\nTo achieve the desired outcome, each aspect of the restoration demands specialized expertise. Delphine Mesmaeker, a sculpture and plaster conservator, patiently removes grey paint from a bas-relief in the dining room, revealing the underlying buttery yellow layer. The process demands unwavering concentration, with Mesmaeker and her colleagues taking a month out of every two months to engage in other tasks to avoid burnout. This phase is anticipated to conclude by November.\n\nHorta, born in Ghent, acquired the adjacent plots on Rue Américaine in Brussels in 1898, during the peak of his career, to construct his maison-atelier. He designed every aspect of the building, encompassing furniture, the distinctive flower-shaped lamps, an indoor winter garden, and a pioneering indoor bathroom equipped with a flush toilet—a luxury uncommon at the time. After Germany's invasion of Belgium during World War I, Horta fled to London and subsequently the United States, where he lectured on architecture and promoted German war atrocities alongside his wife, Julia Carlsson. Horta abandoned the house and, upon his return four years later, sold it. Despite his esteemed status during his time and the enduring influence of his designs, Horta's architectural style fell out of favor for several decades, prompting a resurgence of interest in the Art Nouveau movement. Four of Horta's renowned townhouses were later recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000, and a year-long Art Nouveau festival took place in Brussels in 2023, commemorating 130 years since Horta completed his first townhouse, Hôtel Tassel.",
  "summary": "Visitors to the architect Victor Horta’s home can see the restoration in progress",
  "key_points": [
    "€800,000 allocated for Horta Museum restoration in Brussels",
    "Victor Horta's house showcases Art Nouveau style with iron, brickwork, and floral motifs",
    "Restoration process involves specialized conservators and scheduled completion by November"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}