46 – Walking tours of artists’ studios in Brussels – English edition

Artists’ studios fascinate and form part of the heritage and representations of European cities: in the case of Paris, the capital of the arts in the 19th century, numerous publications describe life in the studios and situate their development in the historical and spatial context of the French capital. In Brussels, the ‘Little Paris’ of the turn of the 20th century, the architectural heritage associated with the sites of artistic creation is also rich but much less well known. Yet the golden age of Brussels’ studios coincided with that of Art Nouveau and, more generally, with the capital’s economic expansion and spatial expansion. Discovering artists’ studios and houses is a way of revisiting the urbanisation of the capital in a new way, from the point of view of places of creation..

Through two original walks through the former ‘artists’ suburbs’ of Brussels (some of which are still home to many creators today!), this guide from the Hommes et Paysages collection invites you to discover this little-known urban heritage, which is often threatened when it no longer meets the standards of artistic work or the minimal comforts of home. The discovery of forty studios, from their first occupants to their transformations, allows visitors to discover these mysterious places and see how they fit into the city.

This guide, which is accessible to all, is illustrated by a rich iconographic and documentary work that brings together numerous photographs, archive documents, maps and reproductions of works of art..

In this guide you will read

The studio: an object of variable geometry with multiple uses
The golden age of studio houses: the focus of this guide
Specificities of the Brussels studios
Artists’ districts, from north to south
North-east district
South-east district
From artist’s interior to artist’s home

Walking Tour 1
5.7 km through Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse

1. Town hall of Schaerbeek, Place Colignon
2. Alfred Ruytinx, 17 Rue Vogler
3. Godefroid Guffens, 4 Place Lehon
4. Antoine Van Hammée, 26 Rue de Locht
5. Louis Gallait, corner of Rue des Palais and Rue Verte (destroyed)
6. Jacques Philippe De Haen followed by Géo de Vlamynck, 7 Rue de la Constitution
7. Alexandre Markelbach, 159 Chaussée de Haecht
8. Alexis Nys De Wilder, 8-10 Rue Seutin
9. Paul-Jean Clays, 27 Rue Seutin
10. Georges Léonard de Saint-Cyr, 42 Rue Thomas Vinçotte
11. Herman Richir, 44 Rue Thomas Vinçotte
12. Pierre-Jean Braecke, 31 Rue de l’Abdication
13. Arthur Rogiers, 103 Rue Charles Quint
14. The Jacquet brothers, 106-126 Rue Charles Quint (destroyed)
15. Georges Léonard de Saint-Cyr, 11 Square Ambiorix
16. Frans Henin, 63 Rue des Éburons
17. Georges Van Zevenberghen, 4 Rue du Marteau
18. Ateliers Mommen, 37 Rue de la Charité

Walking Tour 2
6.5 km through Saint-Gilles and Ixelles

1. Place Julien Dillens
2. André Hennebicq, 1-3 Rue de Lausanne / Rue de la Source
3. Alfred Cluysenaar, 68-70-72 Rue de la Source
4. Armand Massonet, 85 Rue de la Source
5. Fernand Khnopff, 1 Rue Saint-Bernard
6. Georges Houtstont, 13 Rue Veydt
7. Albert Ciamberlani, 48 Rue Defacqz
8. René Janssens, 50 Rue Defacqz
9. Paul Hankar (architect), 71 Rue Defacqz
10. Alfred Crick, 64 Rue Simonis
11. Félix Rodberg, 28 Rue Washington
12. Charles Samuel, 36 Rue Washington
13. Henri Cassiers, 12 Rue de l’Abbaye
14. Constantin Meunier, 59 Rue de l’Abbaye
15. Théo Van Rysselberghe, 63 Rue de l’Abbaye
16. Anna Boch, 30 Rue de l’Abbaye (destroyed)
17. Georges Lemmers, 74 Rue de la Réforme
18. Jenny Hoppe and Géo Bernier, and later Émile Baes, 4 Rue de la Réforme
19. Louise De Hem, 15-17 Rue Darwin
20. Ernest Rocher, 8-10 Rue Darwin
21. Fernand Dubois, 80 Avenue Brugmann
22. Paul Joseph Thimotée, 67 Avenue Ducpétiaux
23. Eugène Broerman, 2 Place Antoine Delporte
24. Fritz Seeldrayers (architect), 52 Rue Moris
25. César Battaille, 18 Rue Moris
26. Jean Gouweloos, 70 Rue d’Irlande
27. Pierre Vandewattyne, 40 Rue d’Espagne
28. Town hall of Saint-Gilles, Place Van Meenen