Mythological painting Luminism


Gustave Franciscus De Smet was a Belgian painter. Together with Constant Permeke and Frits Van den Berghe, he was one of the founders of Flemish Expressionism. In 1908, he and his wife followed Léon to the artists' colony in Sint-Martens-Latem. There, they initially came under the influence of Luminism and the painter Emile Claus, who lived in nearby Astene. At the beginning of World War I, he and his family joined his friend, Van den Berghe, and fled to the Netherlands. From 1914 to 1922, they moved about, visiting and staying at the art colonies in Amsterdam, Laren and Blaricum.[2] His meeting with the Expressionist painter Henri Le Fauconnier marked a turning point in his style which, up until then, owed much to Cubism. In 1927, he settled in Deurle. It was there that his mixture of Expressionism and Cubism peaked, with a series of works depicting circus, fairground and village scenes. After his death in Deurle at the age of sixty-six, his house was preserved as a local museum.


George Morren or Georges Morren was a Belgian painter, sculptor, Impressionist and engraver. The painter and friend of the family Emile Claus who taught him and his brothers several times a week served as his first mentor. He began working in an Impressionist style. In the summer of 1892, eschewing the shortened painting process which was associated with Neo-Impressionism, he began to work in a more spontaneous manner, creating more space for emotions. He became one of the most eager admirers of the French Impressionists. After three years in Paris he returned to Antwerp where he participated in several avant-garde groups. Morren created light-flooded paintings, exhibited at the fairs La Libre Esthétique in Brussels, the 'Vie et Lumière', and at numerous international exhibitions. Towards 1913, he entered a new creative period. The colors in his new works were more subdued. He used grated rough pigment and pastels. Morren remained faithful to impressionist ideals and did not participate in new trends, such as Cubism or Expressionism. He dealt with the scenes of everyday life, interiors, still lifes, landscapes and portraits. His palette became darker and his paintings developed a solemnity and clarity of expression.


Fernand Verhaegen was a Belgian painter and etcher. He took courses at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts from 1900 to 1906. After graduation, he exhibited his works in Belgium and abroad. His style gradually evolved from impressionism and Belgian luminism to a synthetic form of capturing reality. In his later years, he came back to a personal form of impressionism. Verhaegen specialized in painting Walloon folklore. Verhaegen's works are in many museums of Belgium and abroad.