PAVILION OF HUMAN PASSIONS
A Perfect Place for Jules Wabbes’ Dining Table
THE "PAVILION OF HUMAN PASSIONS" IS VICTOR HORTA’S FIRST PUBLIC COMMISSION PROJECT. ENCLOSED IN THE TEMPLE IS A MONUMENTAL RELIEF BY SCULPTOR JEF LAMBEAUX. THE RELIEF IS AN IMPRESSIVE WORK OF ART, MEASURING 11 METERS LONG AND 6 METERS HIGH, MADE IN SMOOTH CARRARA MARBLE.
At first, Horta designed the pavilion’s facade to be open so that the relief would always be visible for passers-by. But Lambeaux, against the will of Horta, wanted a gallery wall behind the columns.
Under pressure of the public opinion and the authorities, Horta had to alter his plans and close the temple with a wooden barricade, and it was left unfinished only three days after inauguration, in 1896 in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark of Brussels, Belgium.
When he was still active, Jules Wabbes photographed his dining table in nature. Therefore, the neoclassical Horta-Lambeaux Pavilion is an ideal next step to magnify this creation.
Like Horta, Jules Wabbes, succeeded in designing an almost "organic" interpretation of the classical dining table, without completely abolishing any reference to an historical style.
The thick table top is made of rectangular blocks of wenge (Millettia laurentii) glued together to form an end grain board. The palette of dark brown is wonderfully warm, sober, and subtle.
The stand is composed of five raw bronze cast elements screwed onto a central pentagonal shaft. It gives the impression that the table is emerging from the ground. Each element has a triangular, but curved, section whose three edges are polished: a subtle detail that lightens and emphasises the structure.
Image Credit: Olivier van Naemen