Victor Horta

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Victor Horta was an architect in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Ghent, Belgium and while he would study and lecture abroad some, most of his work was done in his native country. Horta was a widely respected architect most know for his implementation of the ideas and principles of the new “Art Nouveau” movement to architecture. After the First World War his style would evolve to more modern and simplistic methods. His style would fall out of favor for a time after his death leading to the destruction of many of his works.
Horta was born on January 6, 1861 in Ghent. His first love was music, which he studied at the Ghent Conservatory beginning in 1873 when he was 12. He was expelled from the music program at the Conservatory on account of his poor disciplinary record and began to pursue architecture and design shortly afterward. He would travel to Paris at the age of 17 to study architecture and draw inspiration from the works he would observe. He attributes his time visiting the famous monuments and art museums of Paris as the single greatest inspiration and learning experience of his life. When he was 19, Horta returned to Belgium upon the death of his father settling in the Brussels area. This period in his life saw Horta study architecture at the Royal Academy where he impressed his teacher Alphonse Balat, the architect to King Leopold II, to the degree that he was taken on as his assistant. Throughout his life, Horta would create works for the king and the Belgian government. In 1885, at the age of 24, Horta would join the Central Society of Belgian Architecture.
In addition to increased demand for his work, Horta’s early twenties saw his marriage to his first wife. The couple would ha...

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... World War II further delayed it. Horta would die in 1947 at the age of 85 with the station not complete. It would later be finished according to his plans in 1952. Many of his works survive to this day, some of which are displayed at the Victor Horta museum in Brussels.
Horta was a leader in the art nouveau movement before progressing to other styles of work. His work, as well as his services lecturing on architecture, was in high demand throughout his life. Even decades after his death, people still admire his architecture and attempt to save it from destruction.
Sources:
"Victor Horta Biography - Infos - Art Market." Victor Horta Biography - Infos - Art Market. Art Directory, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. .
"Victor Horta." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. .

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