Portraitist Luminism
Aloïs De Laet was a Belgian painter. As a painter, Alois De Laet was a self-taught artist who, however, learned a lot from his two uncles who were decorative painters. In 1900 he was the first to exhibit in the Cornelis Landschotkapel with the social philosophical movement 'De Kapel'. De Laet called himself one of the first Antwerp socialist artists. He painted portraits, genre scenes and landscapes with a melancholy atmosphere. Under the influence of luminism, his color palette became brighter over the years. He was a member of several art circles, including Eenigen, Als ik Kan, de Scalden, La Libre Esthétique and Vie et Lumière.
Rodolphe De Saegher is a Belgian artist, lawyer and politician. An eminent representative of the luminist pictorial current, he is one of the founders of the artistic circle "Vie et Lumière". Rodolphe De Saegher's work consists mainly of pastels on paper, generally of modest dimensions. The artist fixes on the motif, in direct observation of nature, his impressions of the Flemish countryside, mainly around the Lys, but also his memories of travels, in France and Norway in particular. An eminent representative of the Luminist current, his work is characterized by a particular grace and a very fine coloring, synthetic and stylized evocations reflecting the atmospheric variations in all seasons and at different times of the day of landscapes familiar to the artist. He will also paint in watercolor and oil in the same spirit. Rodolphe De Saegher was also a gifted portrait painter. He will repeatedly caricature the members of the various councils on which he will sit during his political career as well as his collaborators in the legal community. Several pastels by Rodolphe De Saegher appear in particular in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Ghent.
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.
Alfred Hazledine was a Belgian painter and graphic artist. Hazledine was a student of Ernest Blanc-Garin in Brussels and of Adrien-Joseph Heymans. He lived and worked for a long time in Wechelderzande, where there was a true artists' colony. He mainly painted landscapes in Impressionist style. Hazledine was a member of the Vie et Lumière group that brought together Impressionists and Luminists for exhibitions, and was also a member of L'Estampe and of the National Confederation of Painters and Sculptors of Belgium.
Jeanne (Jenny) Montigny was a Belgian painter. At seventeen, she decided to become an artist, knowing that she could not count on her parents' support. After seeing a painting by Emile Claus (The Kingfishers), Montigny decided to seek out a position in his studios near Deinze. In the summer of 1893, she and several other female students took his course in plein air painting. In 1902, she made her debut at the Ghent Salon, followed by shows in Paris. She later became a member of the luminist group Vie et Lumière. At the outbreak of World War I, she followed Claus and his wife in emigrating to London, where she became a member of the Women's International Art Club and exhibited at the Grafton Galleries. After the war, she returned to Belgium. In 1923, she joined the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts.
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.
Frans Mortelmans was a Belgian painter, draughtsman and engraver. He initially produced portraits, history paintings, marines and genre scenes. From 1892 onwards, he almost exclusively painted very decorative and harmoniously composed still lifes and flower pieces. It is through these works that he established his reputation. His compositions with pink roses are in particular highly valued. His work situates itself between impressionism and realism with some luminist touches. He produced many pastel works. Frans Mortelmans was a very prolific painter. To date, more than 850 of his works have been inventoried.
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.
Edmond Paul Marie Verstraeten was a Belgian painter and etcher. He was a luminist impressionist and painted mainly landscapes, but also still lifes and portraits. As a philosophically inclined non-conformist, Verstraeten painted in the direction of pointillism, impressionism and luminism. As a self-taught artist, he had developed his own style, which art critics classed as luminist impressionism. He was a master at painting the light and snow. He was part of the third generation of the School of Tervuren and Genk School. He also wrote poems.