New exhibition rooms open at the Museum of Art and History

In the first room, covering 715 m², more than 300 objects are on display. As well as the impressive works of the great names Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, other architects and designers such as Paul Hankar, Léon Sneyers, Paul Hamesse, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy and Oscar van de Voorde, among others, are also presented in detail. The centrepiece is undoubtedly the winter garden designed by Victor Horta for Brussels engineer Jean Cousin. This monumental structure, which was dismantled in the 1960s, has now been completely restored.

The main focus is on Art Nouveau, a style that emerged in Belgium around 1900 and enjoyed a phenomenal boom there. Visitors can discover the full range of formal interpretations characteristic of this style in the flourishing Belgium of the time.

But Belgian Art Deco also had its place in this same room. This style reached a decisive turning point in 1925 thanks to the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, where Belgian works particularly stood out.

The second new room, covering around 500 m², is devoted to the decorative arts of the 19th century. The tour follows the evolution of styles, with representative examples of Empire, Neo-Gothic and Japonism, which preceded Art Nouveau.

A number of masterpieces are on display. These include furniture by the Jacob family, French cabinet-makers, used at the Duchess of Richmond's ball on the eve of the Battle of Quatre-Bras, three days before the Battle of Waterloo. Candlesticks by the prestigious Parisian silversmith Odiot, from the estate of Count Thierry de Looz-Corswarem, are also on display thanks to a loan from the King Baudouin Foundation.

A great opportunity to visit this federal museum housed in the magnificent Cinquantenaire park!