Museum of Fine Arts of Tournai
Address Rue de l'Enclos Saint-Martin 3
City/Neighborhood Tournai
Style(s)
- Art Nouveau
Original use
- Official building
Année 1928
Architect(s) and/or artist(s)
- Horta Victor
Remarkable elements
- Sculpture
Commissioned by the Brussels art collector, Henri Van Cutsem, the building was created by Victor Horta in 1903. Van Cutsem died in 1904, he would never see the work completed.
It would take twenty-five years to complete the construction due to WW1. The museum was inaugurated in 1928. This is also why the building, mainly in the Art Nouveau style, was tinged with Art Deco.
Horta favored zenithal light through magnificent skylights, he imagined a plan in the shape of a "turtle" with the central hall opening onto five polygonal rooms.
The facade is more reminiscent of an Egyptian temple, made of large cut stones.
The beautiful sculpted elements, a recognizable signature of Horta's hand, adorn the bases of the columns.
The interior volumes are remarkable, however, the combined light and heat are harmful to the paintings on display. A vast project of renovation and construction of new museum spaces is currently underway.
The whole has been listed since 1980.
TOU06 - Unless otherwise stated © www.admirable-artnouveau.be for all photos