Art Nouveau in Antwerp

Architecture in the style of Art Nouveau appeared in Antwerp, Belgium, between roughly 1898 and the start of the First World War in 1914. It was principally practiced by the architects Joseph Bascourt, Jacques De Weerdt, Jules Hofman, Émile Van Averbeke, Émile Thielens, Frans Smet-Verhas as well as August Cols and Alfried Defever. Its principal characteristics in Antwerp buildings include whiplash lines and irregular curves in moldings, ironwork, and incised decoration; gentle arches; colorful ceramic tiles, mosaics, and stained glass; gilded asymmetrical ornament; sgraffito; and keyhole windows and screens.[1][2]

"Les Mouettes" (Seagulls House), 39 Waterloostraat, Antwerp, built in 1905.

The Zurenborg district
Zonnebloem (Sunflower) House) on the Cogels Osylei, Antwerp, designed by Jules Hofman and built in 1900.

Unlike the other major Belgian metropolitan areas such as Brussels or Liège, where Art Nouveau flourished in numerous different parts of the city, Antwerp's Art Nouveau buildings are largely concentrated within a single quarter, Zurenborg, which is a suburban part of the city located about three kilometers from the city center, immediately north of the Berchem train station. The greater part of the structures are situated in the so-called "Golden Triangle" of Antwerpian Art Nouveau, along the streets called the Transvaalstraat, Waterloostraat and Cogels Osylei. The latter, an arterial boulevard, contains a rich cornucopia of highly-ornamented, monumental Victorian- and Edwardian-era architecture, wherein various styles--neoclassical, eclectic, various Renaissance idioms, and above all Art Nouveau--intermingle harmoniously behind small gardens or gates with successive diversity.[2]

Principal Art Nouveau buildings in Antwerp

A few major buildings stand out among the Art Nouveau structures in Antwerp, though none have reached the kind of iconic status such as that enjoyed by Henry van de Velde's Bloemenwerf or Victor Horta's Hôtel Tassel, Maison du Peuple, Hôtel Solvay, or Maison Van Eetvelde, all in Brussels.

Zonnebloem (Sunflower) House
House of the Five Continents, one of the most original Art Nouveau buildings in Antwerp, built in 1901 to designs of Frans Smet-Verhas.

One of the most beautiful examples of Antwerp's Art Nouveau structures is the Zonnebloem House, sometimes called the Maison le Tournesol (Sunflower House), built in 1900 to designs of Jules Hofman at 50, Cogels Osylei in a strand of Art Nouveau close to the German Jugendstil. The stylized floral ornaments run along the bays that differ at each level. One can see two sunflowers on the main façade and three smaller ones on the first floor above ground just above the entrance arcade.[3]

House of the Battle of Waterloo

Another remarkable construction in this district is the Huis de Slag van Waterloo (House of the Battle of Waterloo), designed by the architect Frans Smet-Verhas and built in 1905. Here the nearly-symmetrical façade (broken only by a side tower) is articulated by mosaics bearing the names, figures, and standards of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon I, along with a strange arrangement of bricks on the uppermost floor.

The Maison du Peuple ("House of the People")

Several very interesting and original buildings were constructed in other parts of Antwerp, including the Maison du Peuple built in 1901 by the architects Emile van Averbeke and Jan van Asperen, similar in purpose and corporate structure to other Maisons du Peuple (centers of cooperative workers' assistance, usually tied to socialist parties) in Europe. The balanced façade is pierced in the center by a great oval bay is surrounded by a mosaic symbolizing labor with the slogan "Help U Zelve" (literally, "Help Yourself"). The façade is crowned by two angled pylons that terminate in sculptures in stone of a man and a woman, with each figure encircled by a spiral of wrought iron.[4]

The House of the Five Continents

Also notable is the House of the Five Continents ("Huis de Vijf Werelddelen"), probably the most original Art Nouveau structure in the city, nicknamed "'t Bootje" ("The Little Boat"), due to the second-floor loggia in the form of a ship's prow that emerges at the corner of the structure. It is actually a complex of four houses designed for the well-heeled shipbuilder P. Roeis, hence the ship forms and name, which also references Antwerp's longstanding stature as a global port. It is situated at the angle of Schilderstraat and Plaatsnijdersstraat and was built to designs of Frans Smet-Vehas in 1901.[5]

List of Art Nouveau structures in Antwerp

This list includes all buildings that might be classified as Art Nouveau in a broad sense. Note that this list is not exhaustive and should be added to as need be.

Zurenborg District

Northern Zurenborg
Address Name Architect(s) Date Image
24 Cobdenstraat Emile van Averbeke House Emile van Averbeke 1907
55/57/59 Dolfijnstraat unnamed Joseph Baeckelmans 1905
38/40/46/48 Grotehondstraat Ensemble Notus, Zephyr, Eurus and Boreas (The Four Winds) (38 and 40 only pictured) August Cols and Alfried Defever 1901
135 Lange Van Ruusbroecstraat Schroyens House Frans Smet-Verhas 1908
102/104/106 Mercatorstraat Ensemble Verfaillie Emile van Averbeke and W. Diehl 1901
28 Oostenstraat House "'t Daghet in den Oosten" (The Daghet in the East) Jacques De Weerdt 1906
32 Oostenstraat Citroen-Cahn House Jacques De Weerdt 1908
34 Oostenstraat Leys House Jacques De Weerdt 1906
17 Schorpioenstraat De Graaf House Jacques De Weerdt 1906
47 Velodroomstraat Claessens House Jacques De Weerdt 1907
48/50 Zénobe Grammestraat Églantine House Jacques De Weerdt 1908

"Golden Triangle" of Art Nouveau
Address Name Architect(s) Date Image
42 Cogels Osylei Villa of the Waterlilies August Cols and Alfried Defever 1900
44 Cogels Osylei Iris de Lischbloem T. Van den Bossche 1898
46 Cogels Osylei De Roos House Jules Hofman 1898
50 Cogels Osylei[6] Zonnebloem (Sunflower) House Jules Hofman 1900
55 Cogels Osylei De Morgenster House ("Morning Star") Joseph Bascourt 1904
59 Cogels Osylei De Zonnewijzer House August Cols and Alfried Defever 1909
80 Cogels Osylei "Quinten Matsys" House Jacques De Weerdt 1904
27-30 Generaal Van Meerlenstraat Ensemble "Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn" - four houses at the intersection with the Waterloostraat Joseph Bascourt 1899
18 Transvaalstraat unnamed Alfried Defever 1914
30 Transvaalstraat Talkowski House Jacques De Weerdt 1906
42 Transvaalstraat "Mon Repos" ("My Rest") House Albert Gondrexon 1901
52/54 Transvaalstraat Lotus and Papyrus (double) Houses Joseph Bascourt 1901
56 Transvaalstraat Boreas House Joseph Bascourt 1898
62 Transvaalstraat De Roos House Jules Hofman 1899
2 Waterloostraat De Margriet House Jules Hofman 1900
8/10/12 Waterloostraat Ensemble De Pauw August Cols and Alfried Defever 1900
11 Waterloostraat House of the Battle of Waterloo Frans Smet-Verhas 1905
14/16/18 Waterloostraat unnamed Frans Smet-Verhas 1901
26/28 Waterloostraat Ensemble De Mot Jacques De Weerdt 1904
27 Waterloostraat Verhayen House Jacques De Weerdt 1904
30 Waterloostraat Napoleon House Jacques De Weerdt 1904
31 Waterloostraat Nymphea House Joseph Bascourt 1904
39 Waterloostraat Seagulls House Jacques De Weerdt 1905
49/51 Waterloostraat Ensemble Baeckelmans Joseph Baeckelmans 1905
53 Waterloostraat Smeyers House Adolphe van Coppernolle 1904
55-63 Waterloostraat Ensemble Den Tijd ("The Weather") August Cols and Alfried Defever 1903

Other Districts of Antwerp
Address Name Architect(s) Date Image
422 Beeldhooverstraat unnamed W. van Oenen 1901
24 Harmoniestraat Maquinay Carriage House E. Thielens 1902
Koningin Astridplein Royal Society for Zoology Emile van Averbeke 1899
25 Koningin Astridplein Café-Restaurant Páon Royal (Royal Peacock) Emile van Averbeke and E. Thielens 1899
12 Lange Lobroekstraat unnamed Jacques de Weerdt 1910
14 Lange Lobroekstraat De Dageraad House Jacques de Weerdt 1907
40 Oudekerkstraat Selderslachts-Clasman House Frans Smet-Verhas 1904
Paleisstraat Fire Station Émile Van Averbeke and Jan Van Asperen 1907
52 Sanderusstraat unnamed Émile Van Averbeke 1908
2 Schilderstraat House of the 5 Continents Frans Smet-Verhas 1901
40 Volkstraat Maison du Peuple - Help U Zelve cooperative Émile Van Averbeke and Jan van Asperen 1901
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References
  1. Alex Elaut, Zurenborg Walk, Antwerp: Toerisme Antwerpen, [n.d.].
  2. "Zurenborg," A View on Cities, , retrieved 5 December 2018.
  3. "Cogels-Osylei 50, Berchem, Antwerp," About Art Nouveau, 15 March 2013, . Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. "Liberaal Volkshuis Help U Zelve," Inventaris Onroerend Erfgoed, , retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. "Woningensemble De Vijf Werelddeelen," Inventaris Onroerend Erfgoed, , retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. seishonagon3 (15 March 2013). "Cogels-Osylei 50, Berchem, Antwerp".
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