Art Nouveau Takes Center Stage on Arte in November

In November, Arte is spotlighting Brussels, the birthplace of Art Nouveau, in conjunction with the “Brussels 1900” exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris.
In the documentary “Three Faces of Art Nouveau,” Benjamin Zurstrassen, director of the Horta Museum, takes viewers on a tour of three iconic buildings by architect Victor Horta: the Hôtel Tassel (1893), considered the founding manifesto of Art Nouveau; the Maison du Peuple (completed in 1899), commissioned by the Belgian Workers’ Party and unfortunately demolished in 1965; and the former Waucquez department store (1903–1906), with its splendid Art Nouveau glass roofs, which now houses the Comic Strip Museum.
Arte is also airing “Victor Horta, Architect of a European Dream,” a documentary by Stéphane Ghez tracing the career of this master of architecture. Available on arte.tv starting November 10, it will air on Sunday, November 29, at 5:45 p.m.
Two events not to be missed before setting out to explore “Brussels 1900,” on view at the Petit Palais from November 10, 2026, to April 25, 2027.

Fernand Khnopff, *Des Caresses*, 1896. Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 150 cm. Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. © Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels / photo by J. Van Seghbroeck