A forgotten treasure made by one of the most influential representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium.
The winter garden was designed by Victor Horta in 1900-1901 as part of a commission for Jean Cousin, and was located in the Maison Cousin in Brussels (Saint-Gilles). The building was demolished in 1969 to make room for new houses. Fortunately, the winter garden had been dismantled and moved to a storage facility before demolition, where it remained for over 50 years, forgotten. It has since been rediscovered, and is in need of a full restoration in order to rebuild the winter garden in one of the exposition rooms in the Royal Museums for Arts and History.
In advance of any treatment, we carried out a concise investigation on the finishing layer(s) on the wood surface. Preliminary analyses confirmed that the oldest, still present layer was probably the original varnish layer. Due to the exceptional value of this (relatively) intact work by the renowned Horta, we decided to conserve the original varnish layer as much as possible.
We carried out some trials to ascertain if the original varnish could be uncovered and conserved, and did some tests on the colouring and staining of the wood to match the original colours. Where the original varnish was already gone or beyond saving, we decided to apply a reconstruction varnish, according to a historical recipe for oil-resin varnishes.
All wood joints were checked and repair or adjusted if necessary. Lost components were reconstructed in ash wood, coloured and finished using the reconstructed oil-resin varnish. A temporary exposition showing some (partly) restored pieces was organized in the autumn of 2023. Afterwards, a specially constructed room was built in order to mount the completely finished pieces. The official opening of the exhibition took place on June 13th 2025.
