Jan Frans De Boever (1872 - 1949)
Jan Frans De Boever
Jan Frans De Boever was a Belgian Symbolist painter. He received his training in Ghent at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He became a recognised celebrity at official exhibitions in Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, and Liège. From 1909 onwards, he modified his style radically, painting women and prostitutes in morbid and bizarre settings, with skeletons, diabolism, subservient men and eroticism dominating his paintings. These paintings were allegorical and mythological, reflecting romantic imagery and depicting the universal struggle of good against evil. In 1914, he started to illustrate Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du mal" for the wealthy art-collector Speltinckx. Up to 1924, he made approximately 157 gouaches for the poems, though only 86 have been recovered. Once he had discovered his style, a form of Symbolism belonging to the decadent movement, he ignored ongoing artistic developments and drew his inspiration from literature, music, and mythology. He was still inspired by patriotism, creating several paintings concerning the World Wars, displaying death and catastrophe in the Symbolist style.
| Date and place of birt: | 8 june 1872, Gent, Belgium |
|---|---|
| Date and place of death: | 23 may 1949, Gent, Belgium |
| Nationality: | Belgium |
| Period of activity: | XIX, XX century |
| Specialization: | Artist, Illustrator, Painter |
| Art school / group: | Kunst en Kennis |
| Genre: | Genre art, Nude art, Portrait |
| Art style: | Symbolism |
