The Belgian artist Louise de Hem commissioned the beautiful Art Nouveau houses at Rue Darwin 15 and 17 in Brussels. Born in Ypres in 1866, she moved with her mother and sister into this house in 1904.
Designed by the architect Ernest Blerot, the house has a huge arched window that suggests it belonged to an artist. The decorated panels on the façade add a further artistic touch.
One shows swallows flying in a blue sky, while the other illustrates a woman with Pre-Raphaelite looks – Louise de Hem, probably – painting a landscape.
Louise lived at a time when Belgian women were banned from studying at art academies. She spent several years studying in Paris where she developed a realist style.
She died in this house in Rue Darwin in 1922.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
