Brussels’ flagship museum BELvue does not only tell visitors all they ever wanted to know about Belgium – it also offers fascinating temporary shows. ‘Art Deco – Style in a changing society’ is a fantastic example, highlighting the importance of this vibrant, colourful, geometric period that came after the more floral, curve-abundant Art Nouveau era of design.
The show is organised by the King Baudouin Foundation as part of ‘Art Deco Brussels 2025’ – the event marking the 100th anniversary of the 1925 Paris ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes’. BELvue is proud to present, for the first time ever, the Foundation’s stunning Art Deco pieces together, as art historian Cécile Dubois, who co-curated the exhibition with museum curator and art history professor Werner Adriaenssens, explains.
“These unique works are now accessible to everyone; it’s no point if no-one sees them,” she says, adding: “Unlike some free exhibitions, it is not just posters, it shows priceless pieces and also presents places from the period you can visit, like the Palais des Beaux Arts.”
Indeed, visitors are treated to outstanding works from a gleaming black and gold Val Saint Lambert ‘Cardinal’ glass vase to Belgian artist Oscar Jespers’ ‘Head of a Woman’. Beautiful photographs of Art Deco gems include the “iconic, total work of art” that is now the Museum Van Buuren, Joseph Diongre’s streamlined Flagey INR building and the world’s biggest Art Deco church, Koekelberg Basilica. Private homes include Uccle’s Maison de Verre and the geometric, clean-lined Villa Berteaux.
The exhibition’s three rooms: ‘Exclusivity in Art Deco’; ‘Series production – Art Deco for all’; and ‘Modernity – the speed of change’, put Art Deco in context. It links this artistic style to developments of the time, focusing on how society changed and reinvented itself in the period. After the First World War, women continued to work, they demanded the vote and new freedoms in general. At the same time, technology, notably new transport like the car, was seen as the future.
In Room 1, stand-out pieces demonstrate that in the late 1920s, luxury and glamour for the elite was paramount. Elegant Val Saint Lambert (Seraing) glassware was produced using sophisticated techniques and materials. Sculptures to suit the finest living room include Jespers’ marble ‘Perle fine’ and Marcel Wolfers’ ‘Victory with Laurel Wreath’. The latter, with its female athlete waving her prize with pride, exemplifies women’s changing role. No longer adjuncts of men, they wore less constraining clothes and were portrayed in powerful, modern ways.
Room 2 makes clear artists and designers were also keen to win over the middle classes. Art Deco – a movement embodying much more than luxury – lent itself well to mass production. Belgium was a key player here, with pieces from La Louvière’s Royal Boch ceramics factory, that went bankrupt in 1985 but now expertly reincarnated as the Keramis museum, still grace the Hainaut town’s homes today. Designers like Charles Catteau created bright patterned ceramics decorated with exotic animals such as monkeys and pelicans, that could be produced on an industrial scale.
Furniture designers and graphic artists adapted their styles to suit mass production too. Prominent Belgian designers included husband-and-wife team René Baucher and Sylvie Feron, and Huib Hoste, whose squat, modernist-painted stools are particularly striking. Belgium also had a thriving decorative tile industry, with examples displayed in a stunning centrepiece. Ornate book bindings were increasingly in vogue as seen in Paul Bonet’s bright and beautiful leather and enamel inlay work.
Room 3 emphasises the importance of progress and speed in the 1930s. New technologies such as cars, planes and trains were influencing the everyday lives of people, inspiring designers in architecture and in the decorative arts accordingly. The dynamic lines of Art Deco suited this trend perfectly. Posters show how important Brussels was to the rise of the car, with Minerva making iconic luxury models rivalling Rolls Royce, and the Citroën garage the epitome of Art Deco ‘Paquebot’ (steamboat) style.
With paid holiday now permitted, sport post-World War One was seen as a leisure activity, instead of something purely promoted for hygiene reasons, Dubois explains: “the ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ mentality”. Many public swimming pools were built, and Brussels still boasts Art Deco gems, with Saint-Josse a perfect example. On the luxury front, the indoor gem in Michel Polak’s Résidence Palace and the outdoor pool at Ixelles’ Villa Empain/Boghossian Foundation stand out.
Original period photos also shine in this part of the exhibition. A personal favourite is a charming view of beautiful Art Deco ‘Les Bains de Schelle’ open-air swimming baths (now the Glacières in Saint-Gilles), complete with bathing beauties in suitably modest attire. Sadly, as Dubois explained, these open-air institutions that sprung up in this period including pools and solariums in Molenbeek (Daring Club) and Evere closed in the 1950s and 1970s respectively, as their upkeep was too costly.
This must-see exhibition, complete with a programme of guided tours, workshops and family activities, also challenges the viewer to see the works in comparison to today, posting questions including: “Can we live in a world where beauty no longer plays a role?” and (referring to African-influenced works and Art Deco’s fascination with Egypt), “Can globalization strengthen, not destroy, local traditions?”
The exhibition Art Deco – Style in a Changing Society runs until 4 January 2026 at the BELvue Museum. The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, and on Saturdays, Sundays, and throughout July and August from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
