Victor Horta and Art Nouveau

In this post, I’d like to discuss the work of Victor Horta, an architect in the late 19^th century. Horta designed in the art nouveau style, which was a movement grown out of the arts and crafts style, but embraced the advances in the industrial revolution going on at the time. The arts and crafts movement was in response to saving the craftsmanship and design that was feared to become lost in the influence of industrial mass production.  Architecture theorist and arts and crafts idealist John Ruskin believed that the purpose of arts and crafts was to save what may become lost with the use of machines. The oncoming artists of art nouveau, such as Victor Horta also believed in the importance of craftsmanship, however they realized that industry could have a place in the process of craftsmanship. This notion goes against Ruskin, who may not have agreed that true artistry could emerge without the blood, sweat, and tears of the craftsman’s hand. The truth was, new forms became possible because of the advancement in technology of the industrial age.

Still along arts and crafts ideals, art nouveau valued craftsmanship, detail, and ornamentation. However, the design of the ornamentation at this time was different than what had been seen in the past. Earlier ornamentation featured patterns of geometric and natural symbols. Unlike the flowers and vines used in past design, art nouveau embraced nature with an influence from organic forms, rather than depicting actual nature carved into the artwork.

The emergence of these new forms in design was partly made possible by the technological advances brought on by the industrial revolution. The elegant forms of the metalwork in Horta’s Tassle Hotel are telling of this. To achieve these forms shows an understanding of materials and the intelligence of the designer—a Le Duc ideal. Also in-line with Le Duc’s thinking, Horta believed in the use of modern materials. His work shows the dare of pushing a material to its potential—past its potential, to discover the possible beauty of materials.

The forms in Horta’s work could not have been created so magnificently without the combined expertise of both the craftsmen and the designer. The only difference is between the craftsmen during the industrial revolution and during Ruskin’s time was that the craftsman was now skilled in the use of new tools. Machinery did not hinder the art; it was a new tool for the craftsman.

In a sense, Horta carried on the ideals of both Ruskin and Le Duc in their most contrasting ideals: Ruskin’s belief that beauty and architecture came from the skill of the craftsman, while Le Duc believed that it came from the intelligence of the designer. The further advancement of technology, of what technology allowed us to begin to do with materials, is what brought machinery-built forms back up to par with “hand-made” pieces.

Architect: Victor Horta. (2012). Great Buildings. Retrieved from http://www.greatbuildings.com/

architects/Victor_Horta.html

Greenhalgh, Paul. A New Style for a New Age. (2000). National Gallery of Art: Anatomy of an Exhibition. Retrieved from http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/exhibit_intro.shtm