Horta had a great interest in music since childhood. In 1873 he went to study musical theory at the Ghent Conservatory. He was removed for bad behaviour. He then joined the Department of Architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent instead. In 1878 Horta left for Paris. He found work with architect and designer Jules Debuysson in Montmartre. There he was inspired by the impressionist and pointillist artists, and also by the possibilities of working in iron and glass.