The Rediscovery of Victor Van Dyck (1862-1943)

Remember my post from last December about my trip to Brussels? The one where I wrote I had the privilege of dining at the Max Hallet House? The one with all those pictures of an interior with the most romantic decorations adorning the walls? Well, they have now (re)discovered who painted those beautiful wall decorations! Isn’t that something?!?

Hôtel Hallet staircase | photograph 2022 © Fabien de Cugnac

The Association du Patrimoine Artistique (APA) has prepared an important exhibition called From Eclecticism to Art Nouveau: painter-decorator Victor Van Dyck (1863-1943). The aim of the APA with this exhibition has been to study and share the different facets of the profession of decorative artist in the historical and cultural context of the time. During the preparations for the exhibition and the catalogue, the researchers accidentally discovered original drawings for the decorative scheme of the Max Hallet House! The exhibition has been made possible because the heirs of the artist discovered more than 200 drawings, watercolours and paintings in their attic!

Victor Van Dyck, Women at the fountain, mural project for the staircase of the Hôtel Hallet, ca. 1905

The training of a painter-decorator in the 19th century

From 1851, due to a series of failed attempts at the Universal Exhibitions, a set of private and public initiatives, as well as a plan for an eductional reform in academies and drawing schools, were launched in order to develop the quality of Belgian decorative arts. New drawing methods and the use of ornamental grammar books highlighted the changes in artistic education. (learn more from this earlier blog article)

Hôtel Hallet staircase | photograph 2022 © Fabien de Cugnac

In the context of these significant educational changes, Victor Van Dyck trained as an artist at both the Mechelen and Brussels Academy of Fine Arts. These academies no longer trained painters and sculptors only, but instructed countless draughtsmen and decorators as well, in order to improve the decorative production of the country.

The renewed attention to the decorative arts and their rebirth had a strong impact on both public and private interior projects and buildings in Belgium, as well as in other European countries.

Mural of the staircase of Hôtel Hallet | photograph 2022 ©Fabien de Cugnac

Victor Van Dyck began his career decorating cafes, brasseries and recently built restaurants on the new boulevards of downtown Brussels, the capital of a country that aimed at presenting itself as politically, economically and culturally advanced. When he moved to England, he continued his work as a decorator in restaurants, hotels and theatres, eventually specializing as a ceiling decorator.

The APA research has traced several of the drawings to their locations and the exhibition catalogue shows photos of existing as well as demolished venues where Van Dycks decorations can be found. Like Euston Theater at King’s Cross, the London Pavilion in Piccadilly Circus, the Wyndham’s Theater in West End and the Royal Theater in Richmond.

Victor Van Dyck, Oriental Landscape, Mural Indian Lounge, Blackpool 1896

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the profession of decorative painter allowed artists from the Academy to make a decent living by responding to bourgeois commissions. Upon his return to Belgium, Van Dyck resumed his activity as a skilled painter-decorator for private commissions. In 1902, when he had embraced Art Nouveau’s decorative trend, Van Dyck worked in Brussels with Adolphe Crespin (1859-1944) on the Solvay Library’s decoration.

Ceiling of reading room at Solvay Institute of Sociology | photograph ©Marie-Françoise Plissart

The exhibition unveils some two hundred watercolour projects by Victor Van Dyck. Thanks to their rediscovery, it has been possible to restore his authorship of a mural decorating the main hall of the Hallet Hôtel as well as the decoration of the Solvay Library. The outstanding nature of these rediscoveries is one of those nice surprises that art history can occasionally offer.

Study of women at a fountain

Do you know of any painted ceilings or wall decorations that are not attributed to a particular artist yet? And are they located in Brussels, or anywhere in the UK around the places I mentioned earlier? Head over to the APA exhibition and find out if ‘your’ decoration is amoung the two hundred drawings in the Van Dyck-collection. Or, take a picture of your ceiling / mural and send your picture to the ARA staff. Who knows? Together we might be able to identify even more works by Van Dyck!

Drawing for a mural in the style of Chinoiserie

Drawing for a ceiling in the style of Japonism

This exhibition is presented as part of the Art Nouveau Brussels 2023 events organized by the Brussels-Capital Region, which, through a multidisciplinary program, highlights the rich architectural heritage of the capital and the impact of Art Nouveau on many other artistic fields. (I wrote about Art Nouveau Brussels 2023 here)

25 May – 28 Oct 2023, Ass. du Patrimoine Artistique, Brussels, Belgium
Curator of this exhibition is Pierre Loze. A printed catalogue is available.

Continue Reading:
Association du Patrimoine Artistique
Brochure about the exhibition (English)
Brochure about the exhibition (French)
Visit Brussels: Victor Van Dyck (Dutch)
Wikipedia: Victor Van Dyck (French)