On the 150th anniversary of the birth of Henry van de Velde (1863-1957), the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire have organised, in collaboration with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the largest ever retrospective of this multi-talented artist, designer and architect.

The exhibition features a chronological vision of the life and work of Henry van de Velde with a hitherto unseen ensemble of his works of art and numerous documents. Some five hundred objects – paintings, furniture, silverwork, jewellery, ceramics, bookbinding and architectural plans and models – reflect the artist’s complex universe as well as illustrating the various fields to which he lent his talents.

The King Baudouin Foundation’s Heritage Fund has loaned a number of exceptional pieces from its collection, including the only ring that can, with certainty, be attributed to Henry van de Velde. Also on show from our collection is furniture designed by Victor Horta (1861-1947), a notable contemporary of Henry van de Velde, and the document case bearing the Congo’s coat of arms, which belonged to King Leopold II, from the Michel Wittock Collection.

Seen initially in the Neues Museum in Weimar, the exhibition is now at the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire in Brussels, until 12 January 2014.