Rik Wouters
Rik Wouters The work of the Belgian sculptor and painter Rik Wouters (1882–1916) demonstrates an uncommon vitality. He displayed a prodigious activity over a career spanning less than ten years. At the age of twelve, Rik Wouters was compelled by his father to learn woodcarving. However, his interest soon turned toward drawing, and he entered […]
Xavier Mellery
Xavier Mellery The son of the royal gardener at the Palace of Laeken, Xavier Mellery (1845-1921) began his artistic training in 1860 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. In 1870, he won the Prix de Rome, which allowed him to travel to Italy via Germany. Upon his return, he rented a studio […]
Victor Servranckx
Victor Servranckx The Belgian artist Victor Servranckx (1897-1965) developed a language of geometric abstraction. His fascination with mechanics and the factory, filtered through an artistic vision, extended far beyond the canvas and encompassed a fusion of disciplines. Servranckx exemplifies the versatility of the modern artist: painter, manifesto writer, wallpaper designer, architect, cabinetmaker, and more — […]
Constant Permeke
Constant Permeke Constant Permeke (1886–1952) is considered, alongside Gustave De Smet and Frits Van den Berghe, as one of the most prominent figures of Flemish Expressionism. Permeke was the son of Henri Permeke (1849-1912), painter and drawing professor at the Academy of Ostend, and the first curator of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ostend. […]
René Magritte
René Magritte René Magritte (1898–1967) developed a style that became instantly recognisable from his first paintings in the 1920s. He employed a neutral mode of representation to create unsettling images, featuring recurring motifs such as apples, pipes, bowler hats, and clouds. Through his constant interplay between object and representation, his engagement with language, and his […]
Joan Miró
Joan Miró A prolific artist closely associated with the history of Surrealism, Joan Miró (1893-1983) spent his life moving between Paris and his native Catalonia. The work of this “classic contemporary” artist encompasses landscapes, portraits, and still lifes, all marked by a constant search for a primary, essential gesture. His painting is animated by a […]
René Guiette
René Guiette René Guiette (1893-1976), born in Antwerp, was the son of the luminist painter Jules Guiette (1852–1901) and the brother of the poet Robert Guiette (1895–1976). During the First World War, he produced a series of portraits while cultivating a profound fascination with Eastern civilizations, philosophies, and esoteric thought. After the Armistice, he pursued […]
Georges Lemmen
Georges Lemmen The Belgian artist Georges Lemmen (1865-1916) abandons very early his studies of drawing, fearing that an academic training would paralyze him. In 1888, he becomes member of the Cercle Les XX and participates the following year, for the first time, in their annual exhibition as well as at the Salon des Indépendants in […]
Pierre-Louis Flouquet
Pierre-Louis Flouquet Pierre-Louis Flouquet (1900-1967) was born in Paris and moved with his family to Brussels in 1909. Although largely self-taught, he briefly studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he met artists such as Victor Servranckx and René Magritte. Flouquet and Magritte would later share a studio, a formative period […]
Gustave De Smet
Gustave De Smet Gustave De Smet (1877-1943) was a key figure in the second generation of the Sint-Martens-Latem School. Alongside his brother Léon (1881–1966), he entered the artistic world at an early age, assisting his father, Jules, a set decorator. De Smet pursued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent, where he […]