| Stoclet Palace | |
|---|---|
| Palais Stoclet (French) Stocletpaleis (Dutch) |
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Stoclet Palace |
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| Alternative names | Stoclet house |
| General information | |
| Type | Private house |
| Architectural style | Vienna Secession |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Construction started | 1905 |
| Completed | 1911 |
| Design and construction | |
| Client | Adolphe Stoclet |
| Architect | Josef Hoffmann |
| Other designers | Gustav Klimt, Franz Metzner, Fernand Khnopff |
| Official name: Stoclet House | |
| Type: | Cultural |
| Criteria: | i, ii |
| Designated: | 2009 (33rd session) |
| Reference #: | 1298 |
| State Party: | Belgium |
| Region: | Europe and North America |
The Stoclet Palace (French: Palais Stoclet, Dutch: Stocletpaleis) is a private mansion built by architect Josef Hoffmann between 1905 and 1911 in Brussels, Belgium, for banker and art lover Adolphe Stoclet.[1] Considered Hoffman's masterpiece, the Stoclet's house is one of the most refined and luxurious private houses of the twentieth century.[2]
The mansion is still occupied by the Stoclet family and is not open to visitors. It was designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO in June 2009.[3]
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In 1904, Adolphe Stoclet and his wife Suzanne commissioned Austrian architect and designer Joseph Hoffman and the Wiener Werkstätte (English: Viennese Workshop), formed in 1903, to design, build and fully furnish a house and garden. House and garden were conceived as one architectural whole.[4]
Stoclet Palace was constructed on Avenue de Tervueren, in the municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Brussels. The building is of asymmetrical plan,[5] and the architectural features radically simplified in a way that looks forward to Modernism.[6] The exterior walls, initially white, are "patterned by the rhythm of neat windows" [5] while the corners and upper edges are defined by bronze mouldings. The tower over the main staircase rises to a bronze lantern ornamented with figures by sculptor Franz Metzner. [7] The window which lights the stairwell rises the height of the building, a feature that was to influence other architectural works.[5]
The interior of the building is decorated with marble paneling and artworks, [7] including mosaic friezes[8] by Gustav Klimt and murals Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel.[9] This integration of architects, artists, and artisans makes Stoclet Palace an example of Gesamtkunstwerk, one of the defining characteristics of Jugendstil. The sketches of Klimt's work for the dining room can be found in the permanent collection of Museum für angewandte Kunst (MAK) in Vienna.
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