Van Buuren Museum & Gardens

David Van Buuren (1886–1955) was born into a Jewish family in Gouda, Netherlands.[3] He settled in Brussels in 1909 to become an important private banker. He married the Belgian Alice Piette (1890–1973) in 1922. David Van Buuren asked his nephew and architect Johan Franco to start working on the plan of his future house in Brussels.[4] From 1924 to 1928, the Van Buurens commissioned the architects Léon Govaerts and Alexis Van Vaerenbergh to build their house on Léo Errera Avenue in Uccle following Franco's sketches.[4][5] The outdoor architecture is typical of the Amsterdam School, while its Art Deco interior was decorated by Belgian, French and Dutch designers with rare furniture, carpets and stained-glass windows.

From 1928 to 1970, the Van Buurens hosted people such as Raoul Dufy, Jacques Prévert, René Lalique, Sergei Diaghilev, Erik Satie, René Magritte, David Ben-Gurion. The private house became a museum in 1975 according to the testament of Alice Van Buuren.[6]

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, c. 1590–95, oil on wood (63 cm × 90 cm (25 in × 35 in)), circle of Peter Bruegel the Elder, Museum van Buuren, Brussels, Belgium

David Van Buuren decorated his house with paintings by James Ensor, Joachim Patinir, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hercules Seghers, Pieter Jansz Saenredam, Tsuguharu Foujita, Kees van Dongen, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Fantin-Latour, Rik Wouters, Gustave De Smet, Xavier Mellery en Constant Permeke. David was the patron of the expressionist painter Gustave van de Woestijne. Van Buurens collections consists of 32 paintings of Van de Woestijne.[7]

The living room is decorated with a rich collection of modernist carpets by the Dutch designer Jaap Gidding,[8] and a grand piano made of rosewood designed by Julius Blüthner.[9] Jan Eisenloeffel designed the 500 kg (1,100 lb) Art Deco chandelier in the entrance hall.[10][3][11]

On 16 July 2013, the paintings Shrimps and Shells by James Ensor, The Thinker by Kees Van Dongen, and eight small works by old masters were stolen.[12][13]

A view of the house through part of the restored garden (2019)

The gardens, begun in 1924, originally covered 26 a (28,000 sq ft) and now cover 1.5 ha (3.7 acres). They are divided into three parts. The first, and oldest, is a "Picturesque Garden" by the landscape architect Jules Buyssens that recalls the spirit of the Roaring Twenties and shows the geometrical ideas of Art Deco. The second, the "Labyrinth", is inspired by the Song of Solomon and in 1968 was decorated with seven sculptures by the sculptor André Willequet. The third, "Garden of the Hearts", was designed by the landscape designer René Pechère in 1970 and brings a touch of romanticism to the park. There is a great harmony of style and time between the Buyssens garden and the Art Deco house. Alice considered René Pechère's gardens, added 45 years later, as a complement of her villa. The gardens can be visited year-round.[14][15][16] In 2015, the restoration of the gardens (carried out in stages in 2009–2012 and 2018–2019) received the Europa Nostra Award for European cultural heritage.[17] In 2023, they became the first Belgian site to be included in the European Route of Historic Gardens.[18]

• List of museums in Brussels
• Art Deco in Brussels
• History of Brussels
• Culture of Belgium

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Museum Van Buuren.

• Maslaton Oster, Joelle (5 December 2009). "Van Buuren - Joelle Magazine". joellemagazine.com. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
• "Van Buuren Gardens". European Route of Historic Gardens. 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.