International studio (31.1907)

Leon Frederic, Belgian Painter


wayfarer, struggling from morn till
eve to earn a living for himself and
his children by selling chalk in the
outskirts. The story of this miser-
able life inspired the artist to create
his great triptych, Les Marchands de
Craie, which is now in the Brussels
Gallery. It is generally regarded as
his masterpiece. On the left panel
the painter shows the start in the
misty morning; in the centre the
family meal by the roadside; on
the right the return in the dusk of
night. Thenceforward Frederic’s
intimate knowledge of the life of
the poor impelled him to compose
a series of pictures, most tender and
touching in expression.
Then came an event—a very
simple event in a man’s life, a mere
excursion—which had the effect of
suggesting to him new subjects of
study. A relative, affianced to a
teacher at Nafraiture, a little village
in Belgian Luxembourg, invited

“ LE

lin

BY LEON FREDERIC

some inconscient phenomenon re-
veals to him the ingenuous silhouette
of the Madonna.”
One may see in the first works
of Frederic exhibited since 1878
traces of the manner of Emile
Wauters, whose famous picture, La
folie d'LLugo van der Goes, had
created a profound impression
shortly before in the art-world of
Brussels. His painting was remark-
able at that time for the somewhat
theatrical character of its composi-
tion, for its fulness of tone, and
particularly for its full and simple
drawing and touch.
But after 1881 his manner
changed, under another influence;
his drawing became mote minute,
more precise, his shades of colour
more delicate, his executive work
less apparent. It was then that
appeared the first triptych of the
Legend of St. Francis.
The model he used most fre-
quently at that time was a wretched


“ I.E

LIN ”

BY LEON FREDERIC

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