Palate of the Art schools of Brussels

The Palais of Art schools is a high place of the culture with Brussels, multi-field space conceived to gather a large range of artistic events, which it is about Musique, of Visual arts, of Théâtre, Danse, Littérature, Cinéma or Architecture.

It is also a masterpiece Art déco of the architect Victor Horta, built between 1922 and 1929.

The creation of the palate

The idea, original for the time, to gather multiple disciplines of artistic expression in the same place, is not new in Belgium. A first palate of the Art schools, conceived by Alphonse Balat, is inaugurated in 1880 street of Regency. Holding at the same time of the palate and temple, it is designed to accommodate concerts and exposures. Seven years later, the urgent need to find a place to transfer the collections to it from old art will be right of its first functions. The building shelters always today the Musée of old Art.

During the following decades, in spite of the lack of and request concert halls of the king Albert I {{er}} and of the queen Elisabeth (large defenders of the culture), no construction project of a new palate leads. It is only the shortly after the First World War that a first project of Horta is presented to the government, which refuses it because of the audacities of the architect and budgetary problems. At this point in time, on the initiative of Adolphe max, burgomaster of the town of Brussels and Henry the Ox, financier and musician, is created a privately held company “Palate of the Art schools”, which takes care of the management of the project, the city providing the ground and the State guaranteeing the loans necessary.

The design and the realization of the palate will be long and difficult, the ground located on the slopes of the hill of Coudenberg, at the end of the place Royale, is irregular, sandy and wet, the fitting of spaces is complex. Horta is forced to yield with the constraints which are imposed to him, its palate in its high part cannot mask the sight since the royal palace to the bottom of the city, it will have thus to reduce its height and to insert it more deeply in the ground. To make profitable the investment partly, the city requires that stores be envisaged along the frontage. What will make say later to Horta: “ a Palate? I do not think it: a simple House of arts, because I would not dare to name “Palate” a construction whose principal frontage includes/understands stores! ”.

Showrooms, then the conference rooms and of recitals, and finally the big room, will be inaugurated progressively of their completion, in 1928 and 1929.

The palate

The challenges taken up by Horta are multiple: to make art and the culture accessible to the greatest number, to offer to each type of artistic expression the best possible conditions and to create a bond between the top and the bottom of the city. This while preserving architectural research.

The long hall of entry gives access to the big room in concert (baptized name of Henry the Ox), of a capacity of: 2,200 places, located in basement like the room of theater. To the ground floor, the hall of sculpture (today hall Victor Horta) gives access by its large staircase to the showrooms of the stage.

Cinema

Xavier Garcia Bardon, historian specialist in the experimental Cinema, program for the Palate of the Art schools of cinematographic works of high artistic value.

Evolution of the palate

August 1st

Bozar

August 1st

See too

List of the cinemas in Brussels
Belgian Cinema

External bond

Site of the Palate of the Art schools, or “Bozar”

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