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  American Club Brussels
An International club with an American heart


Van Buuren Museum

  • 27 Sep 2015
  • 2:00 PM
  • 1180 Brussels
  • 0

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A Guided Visit to
the van Buuren Museum

 

Join us on Sunday, September 27, for a guided visit of the van Buuren Museum in Uccle.

The Museum David and Alice van Buuren is a private house built from 1924 to 1928 for banker and art collector David van Buuren and his wife Alice. The house was decorated by David and Alice as a total work of art to present their art collection in a rich Art Deco interior. The house is surrounded by gardens designed by Jules Buyssens in 1925 and René Pechère in 1968 and 1970. The house was declared a National Heritage site in 2001. The private house became a museum in 1975 according to the testament of Alice van Buuren.

David van Buuren (1886-1955) was born into a Jewish family in Gouda, The Netherlands. 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 Johan Franco, an architect, to start working on the plan of his future house in Brussels. From 1924-1928 the van Buurens commissioned the Belgian architects Léon Govaerts and Alexis Van Vaerenbergh to build their house on Avenue Léo Errera following Franco's sketches. 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.

David van Buuren decorated his house with paintings from James Ensor, Joachim PatinirPieter Bruegel the ElderHercules SeghersPieter Jansz Saenredam, Tsuguharu FoujitaKees van DongenVincent van GoghHenri Fantin-LatourRik WoutersGustave De SmetXavier Mellery and Constant Permeke. David was the patron of Belgian expressionist painter Gustave van de Woestijne. Van Buuren’s collections consists of 32 paintings by Van de Woestijne.

The gardens are an extension of the house. They are divided in three parts: the first one is "Picturesque Garden" designed by the landscape architect Jules Buyssens in 1924 that recalls the spirit of the "roaring twenties" and represents the geometrical ideas of the Art Deco. The second one, the "Labyrinth"’', is inspired by the Song of Salomon and decorated with seven sculptures by the Belgian sculptor André Willequet in 1968. The third one, "Garden of the Hearts"'’ was designed by Belgian landscape designer René Pechère in 1970 and brings a touch of romanticism to the park.

Our guide will once again be the excellent Lieve De Jonghe.

Please note that this visit is limited to 20 people.

Event Details:
Date:
 Sunday, September 27, 2015
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: Van Buuren Museum, Avenue Léo Errera 41, 1180 Brussels
Price: €15 for members, €20 for non-members.
Public Transportation: Buses 38, 60: Cavell; Trams 3, 4, and 7: Churchill
Sign up: Reservations are due by noon on Wednesday, September 23, online at
www.americanclubbrussels.org, by email (info@americanclubbrussels.org), or by telephone to the ACB Office Manager (0476/996.870). Payment to ACB at BE55427919588144 (KREDBEBB) will confirm your reservation. Be sure to mention “van Buuren” in the communications section of the virement.
Cancellations are possible until noon on Wednesday, September 23. Participants canceling after this time, as well as no-shows, are charged the full cost of the event.

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