18. Charlier Hotel (Charlier Museum)

This remarkable Neoclassical mansion was built in 1844 on Avenue des Arts, originally designed as a "promenade" and today replaced by the inner ring road. With its choice location on what was a prestigious new artery between Rue Royale and the Botanical Gardens, the building has been a privileged witness to the urban development and continuous transformation of the capital. Between 1890 and 1892, Victor Horta was given the task of adding a large exhibition space to replace the former stables, before continuing with a second extension, also in Neoclassical style, on the neighbouring plot of land. Today, the building houses the Charlier Museum which boasts a rich collection of works by Belgian artists (Anna Boch, Constantin Meunier, Auguste Oleffe…) and which will exceptionally be open on a weekend on the occasion of the BBN 2024. 

Victor Horta and Neoclassicism: Essential figure of the Art Nouveau movement, Victor Horta can here be seen producing a Neoclassical building just months before he designed the famous Tassel Mansion. Over and above stylistic considerations and the individual tastes of his clients, he demonstrated his mastery of Classical canons, innovated in terms of interior space and took advantage of the rear façade to express a novel monumentality. Thus, this project can be seen as a link between two architectural movements which are often considered as opposed to each other.