Object description

The Hôtel Solvay is a large Art Nouveau town house designed by Victor Horta on Avenue Louise/Louizalaan in Brussels, Belgium. The house was commissioned by Armand Solvay, the son of the wealthy Belgian chemist and industrialist Ernest Solvay. For this wealthy patron, Horta could spend a fortune on precious materials and expensive details. Horta designed every single detail; furniture, carpets, light fittings, tableware and even the doorbell. He used expensive materials such as marble, onyx, bronze, tropical woods etc. For the decoration of the staircase, Horta cooperated with the Belgian pointillist painter Théo van Rysselberghe.