The home of George Minne: Huize Minne

George Minne was born in Gent on 30th of August 1866. Although he was already passionate about art from a young age, his parents wanted him to have an honorable job. Initially, George Minne did follow architecture lessons under the duress of his father, but quite quickly it is clear for him that his avocation was elsewhere.

George meets the well-known writer Maurice Maeterlick and from then on, they influence each other’s work. In 1899 he moves to Sint-Martens-Latem where he takes care of the first school of Latem (which includes amongst others Gustave Van de Woestijne en Emile Claus).

Together with Constantin Meunier, George Minne is internationally acknowledged in the circles of art nouveau and symbolism. Auguste Rodin, much impressed by the monumentality of Minne’s sculptures, tells George he can’t teach him anything more.
His distinctive style doesn’t remain unnoticed and will have a clear influence on Gustav Klimt.

George’s friends were active in various art disciplines. Henry Van de Velde for example (the architect of a.o. the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands and the Tower of books in Ghent) was one of the most important representative of the art nouveau and a good friend of Minne.

Thanks to the international success and the numerous assignments, George can build a spacious home in Latem, Huize Minne. Being an architect, he designs the house himself. In a farm nearby, he sets up his atelier.

Nowadays a lot has changed: the rural character around Huize Minne has disappeared and the building itself has undergone an important transformation. Fortunately, the soul of the house is still there and in the kitchen you will find an original wall painting, inspired by the figure of Adam by Michelangelo.

To discover more of George Minne, the museum Gevaert - Minne (home of George's oldest daughter Marie, born in 1895) will reopen on the 9th of June 2012.