Oh Titania, decorate yourself with diamonds today! She is eye candy, like a doll, delicate and fine. She’s resplendent in her pink dress. Her hair sways coquettishly, sparkling, strewn with bright little stars. Richly adorned with jewels, like a display case, her eyes are melancholy, dreaming into the distance; her youth is crushed, affliction her companions. - SISI, 1887

Self-portraits by women artists

The complex was commissioned by King Leopold II and designed by Alphonse Balat. Built between 1874 and 1895, the complex was finished with the completion of the so-called “Iron Church”, a domed greenhouse that would originally serve as the royal chapel. The total floor surface of this immense complex is 2.5 hectares (270,000 square feet). 800,000 liters (over 200,000 US gallons) of fuel oil are needed each year to heat the buildings.

The complex can only be visited during a two-week period in April–May each year, when most flowers are in full bloom.

I photographed Aubrey Plaza for this week’s issue of Time Magazine !

Photo: Signe Pierce

Assistants: Tayler Smith + Xan Violet