Horta in Antwerp
Being a huge fan of Horta, it’s sometimes difficult to interpret and understand modern architecture that is “inspired” by him. A recent example is “Cafe Horta” in Antwerp. As is in a name, it pretends to uphold the legislation of Horta. Well, maybe it’s not all that simple.
First of all, have a look at their website and in specific the “Art Nouveau Hall“. It reuses some parts of “La Maison du Peuple” that I’ve mentioned earlier on this website. So far so good. Reusing original otherwise lost artifacts is a good thing. But take a look at the rest of the hall. Seriously … That’s not the idea nor philosophy of Horta. Creating a large amount of light is good, that’s how he meant it to be. But what’s up with the pale colours? Art Nouveau was about light forcing it’s way through a spectre of coloured light, stained glass. The whole rainbow in one room. Not some pale imprint of even more pale colours …
Why couldn’t they add vivid colours, play with the light and shadow that inevitably paint the walls. As my dissertation is about stained glass from the 15th century until now, I know a bit about how colourful it all can be. How even the medieval man knew about it’s beauty. A person we often called “stupid and moronic” (although recent research has somewhat revoked that view, many still hold on to that thought). Still they knew and they were experts with light and colour. It wasn’t until the 19th century for the rediscovery of this secret. And what have we learned from it? Looking at the Art Nouveau hall … not much.
A shame really. Having spent so much effort in integrating original parts of Horta’s Maison du peuple, it’s in no relationship with the other elements. A missed opportunity, but that’s perhaps modern architecture. Maybe I’m just too old fashion. On the other hand: don’t copy when you can’t reach the original level. Be original for god’s sake!