The Stocklet Palace in Brussels (Belgium), by Josef Hoffman, 1999 (photo)

The Stocklet Palace in Brussels (Belgium). The Palace was designed in 1905 at the request of banker and collector Adolphe Soclet by one of the leaders of the artistic movement of the Viennese Secession, the architect Josef Hoffman (1870-1956). The latter was able to work without financial or aesthetic limitations. With their pure geometrism, the palace and garden (completed in 1911) mark a radical change in Art Nouveau, a change that announces Art Deco and Modernist movement in architecture. The Soclet Palace is one of the most successful achievements of the Viennese Secession. It houses works by Koloman Moser and Gustav Klimt, linked to the design of the Gesamtkunstwerk (architecture, sculpture, painting and decorative arts are integrated into the same work). The Palace testified to the artistic renewal of European architecture and presented a high level of integrity in its dimensions of external architecture, architecture and interior decoration, with original furniture and objects. Photography 1999.