Paul Hankar

Paul Hankar (11 December 1859 – 17 January 1901) was a Belgian architect and furniture designer, and an innovator in the Art Nouveau style.

Career

He was born at Frameries, the son of a stonemason. He studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he met fellow student (and future architect) Victor Horta. Like Horta, he closely studied the techniques of forged iron, which he would later use in many of his buildings. He began his career as a designer and sculptor of funeral monuments. From 1879 to 1892 he worked in the office of architect Hendrik Beyaert, where he obtained his architectural training. Under Beyaert, he was chief designer for the Palacio de Chávarri in Bilbao, Spain (1889), constructed for the businessman Víctor Chávarri.

He opened his own office in Brussels in 1893, and began construction of his own house, the Maison Hankar. This and Victor Horta's Hôtel Tassel (constructed at the same time), are considered the first two houses built in the Art Nouveau style. A circa-1894 poster by his friend and frequent collaborator, Adolphe Crespin, advertises Hankar's practice on the Rue Defacqz.