Belgian Architectural Marvel May Soon Get Its Public Debut

On a major Brussels thoroughfare flanked by embassies, the Palais Stoclet stands out as an austere rock of marble chiselled into rectangular forms. Four nude male statues surround a tower overlooking the main entrance, as if standing guard. Inside, an airy hall opens into an opulent dining room ringed with six-meter-long mosaic friezes by Gustav Klimt, which are dotted with semi-precious stones and embellished with gold leaf.

Completed after six years in 1911 by Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann, the Palais Stoclet is one of Belgium’s most significant private villas, a gem of Vienna Secession architecture and a key forerunner of the art deco movement. In 2009, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.