Cauchie, Paul

(1875-1952)

   Paul Cauchie was born on 7 January 1875 at Ath. A decorative artist, painter, and architect, he studied at the Académie royale des Beaux-Arts, graduating in 1898. He established a business specializing in sgraffiti paintings, creating a frieze titled les phases de la construction (phases of construction) for an apartment building in the rue Malibran (1900). Around 1905, his style tended increasingly toward the geometrical. At the same time, he built his own home and studio at rue des Francs 5, Etterbeek, in collaboration with the architect Édouard Frankinet (1877-1937), which established his reputation as one of the leaders of the art nouveau movement. Cauchie's decorative work includes some 440 design projects, most of which were for building façades and stairways. He died in Brussels on 1 September 1952.