Roof of the Spring House (one of the Four Seasons) in Art Nouveau style at Zurenborg in Antwerp, Belgium


Zurenborg is an area in south-east Antwerp largely developed between 1894 and 1906 that features a high concentration of townhouses in Art Nouveau and other fin-de-siècle styles. Zurenborg is unique in Antwerp in that it is one of the few areas developed according to a plan in the late 19th century. This photo : in 1899 the Belgian architect Joseph Bascourt built four corner houses in Art Nouveau style inspired by the four seasons. To refine the symbolism he used a colorful polychrome for each of the seasons. The summer and spring houses would get a green look while autumn and winter got brown balconies. This was even more accentuated with similar color schemes being used in the beautiful wall mosaics and windows. The pictures in the mosaics accentuate the symbolism : spring is a young girl with lilies of the valley, summer is a woman with beautiful flowing hair, autumn is an elderly lady with grapes and winter is an old man with beard and mustache surrounded by snow covered pine trees. The buildings have some remarkable triangular bay windows. Architect : Joseph Bascourt (Brussels, 15 September 1863 - 6 March 1927 Antwerp) was a Belgian architect who designed numerous Art Nouveau buildings in and around Antwerp. Among his contributions to the landscape of the city are 25 houses in the Zurenborg neighborhood, and the community center in Wilrijk (1914–20)


Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Generaal van Merlenstraat 30, Zurenborg, Berchem, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, Western Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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