School No. 13 signed Henri Jacobs
Address Avenue de Rodebeek 59
City/Neighborhood Brussels
Style(s)
- Art Nouveau
Original use
- Education
Année 1913
Architect(s) and/or artist(s)
- Jacobs Henri
- Langaskens Maurice
- Privat-Livemont Henri
Remarkable elements
- Mosaics
- Ironwork
- Art painting
Architect Henri Jacobs, the man with 14 schools in Brussels, designed in 1913 this school project for girls and boys.
A first school (boys) inside an island, a narrow facade on the streetside, then a courtyard and a large courtyard giving access to the classrooms.
In 1922, he will complete the second phase (girls) on the same plan, with an entrance a little lower on the avenue. A total work of art, Jacobs designs not only the architecture but also all decorative elements, as well as the furniture. It was the frescoes and interior decorations that caught our attention.
In the magnificent covered courtyard of school n°13, one discover a vast panel of mounted canvas imagined by the artist Marcel Langaskens, following a competition in which Adolphe Crespin and Privat-Livemont also participated.
The monumental canvas represents "Tales of the ancestor" on the left and "Shepherds studying the stars" on the right. In the center, "The Study". Magnificent composition close to symbolism.
In the second courtyard, finalized after the First World War, in 1922. It was the artist Privat-Livemont who was chosen to create the second fresco (to the great displeasure of Langaskens). It represents in a very different style from the first, much more allegorical and bucolic, on the left "Study and Work", on the right "Première Education".
One can still admire other creations by Privat-Livemont, such as the sgraffito frieze in the entrance hall.
The buildings and their contents were classified in 2008.
They can be visited on certain days organized during the Banad Festival and Heritage Days.
BRU79 - Unless otherwise stated © www.admirable-artnouveau.be for all photos