Expo “Echoes of Art Deco” at Villa Empain

In the frame of the centenary commemoration of Art Deco in 2025, the Boghossian Foundation is presenting a thematic exhibition on this key movement in Brussels.

The term Art Deco refers to the Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, held in Paris in 1925, which provided a unique opportunity for architects and the public to immerse themselves in this fresh, innovative spirit.

Echoes of Art Deco invites visitors to explore the iconic architecture of the Villa Empain, a paragon of Art Deco with an eventful past. Set against the lively musical backdrop of the era, the exhibition offers an immersive experience into the lifestyle of the Roaring Twenties.

Art Deco encompasses not only architecture but also the decorative arts. Furniture takes centre stage in a scenography that recreates the intimate atmosphere of a private residence. Drawings, ceramics, woodwork and ironwork transport visitors to a time oriented towards modernity, technical progress, and soon, the leisure society. Stained glass art, a privileged witness to stylistic evolution, is highlighted by an exceptional collection of 25 original pieces.

1925 – 2025: Art Deco turns 100
In 1925, the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts opened in Paris. Each country was required to build a Pavilion and present furniture, artworks, and objects, adhering to a single criterion: not to draw inspiration from the past.

This rule encouraged artists and architects from around the world to propose a new language. Art Deco was born. For this renowned Parisian exhibition, an architect named Victor Horta designed the Belgian Pavilion, and a couple of collectors, the van Buurens, made some purchases for their new home…

Villa Empain: Art Deco masterpiece
After World War I, an entire generation longed for renewal: these were the “Roaring Twenties”. Economic and industrial recovery was accompanied by major technical and scientific advancements. Film, radio, and automobiles became accessible in a society that now celebrated “modern living”, marked by the introduction of paid vacations and a true leisure society, with its cinemas, hotels, and restaurants. In this spirit of innovation, the Art Deco movement, which emerged during the Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts in 1925, gained momentum in Belgium with the founding of the Higher Institute of Decorative Arts at La Cambre in 1927.

It is within this context that we should place the architect Michel Polak (1885-1948). He is the creator of iconic buildings in Brussels such as the Résidence Palace and the Villa Empain. Representative of this period, Polak’s work stands out for its opulence and its luxury. Built in the early 1930s, the Villa Empain
asserts its eclecticism by borrowing from other styles, while promoting the geometrization of lines. Expensive materials and varied colors blend with the formal language of the avant-garde. The ornaments were created by the greatest craftsmen of the time, including the glass roof by Max Ingrand and the decorative metalwork by Edgar Brandt and Alfred François. An emblematic figure of the Art Deco movement and a true architectural icon, this private house was only lived in for relatively short period.

This exhibition aims to bring the Villa back to life – by playing on a return to the past, suggesting an imaginary reconstitution, offering visitors the opportunity to travel back in time and discover a culture, an aesthetic and an art de vivre.

‘L’art de vivre’ in the thirties
The works gathered here evoke the liberation of the female body and the world of music, both of which played a central role in the interwar period. Among them is the painting The Music by the Antwerp artist Marthe Donas, the first woman to represent abstract painting in Belgium, as well as a work by Victor Servranckx, a pioneer of the abstraction movement in Belgium. Popular scenes, such as Le batelier, are a central theme of Anto Carte, who founded the Nervia group, bringing together artists from Hainaut. Finally, a series of posters and archival materials by the illustrator Hub Dup, one of the best poster artists of his time, completes the collection.

The art of stained glass
Originally seen in religious buildings of the Western Middle Ages, stained glass suffered waves of destruction during the period of the French Revolution before being revived in the 19th century through the romantic reinterpretations of Viollet-le-Duc. At the turn of the 20th century, stained glass became one of the jewels of decorative arts under the influence of Art Nouveau. Leaving churches to adorn bourgeois interiors, department stores, and industrial offices, stained glass became a mass-produced good.

During the Art Deco period, the aesthetic language of stained glass was renewed under the influence of Cubism, Constructivism, and Futurism. A new repertoire of forms unfolded, with abstract, symmetrical, and stylized geometric compositions. In Brussels, hundreds of workshops, such as those of Crickx and Colpaert, responded to both public and private commissions. However, in the 1950s and 60s, the Art Deco style fell out of favor, and many stained glass windows were destroyed. Today, only 20% remains. A witness of an invaluable but endangered heritage.

Art Deco went through several phases. By the late 1910s, the Amsterdam school, highly prominent in the Netherlands, distinguished itself by its preference for symmetry and geometry. Stained glass windows stemming from this movement then found their way into private homes and commercial spaces. From the end of the 19th century, glass painting gradually disappeared, replaced by new techniques such as American or ‘Tiffany’ glass, introduced in 1882. Around 1920, depictions of fauna and flora decreased in favor of stylized ornamentation. In Brussels, these stained glass windows were often used as privacy screens in private homes, placed at the bottom of windows facing the street to conceal the interior. By the mid-1920s, a hybrid style emerged, showing the influence of Egyptian motifs following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. In the 1930s, some stained glass windows reflected the influence of the Dutch De Stijl movement, particularly the work of Piet Mondrian. Finally, in 1935, curves reappeared in compositions, and the color palette expanded, foreshadowing stylistic developments to come.

Find more details and plan your visit via Villa Empain website.