DOI issue:
No. 96 (March, 1901)
DOI article:Studio-talk
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19787#0160
Studio- Talk
ANTWERP.—Since the opening of the
season the art exhibitions in Antwerp
have been as frequent as in Brussels.
Unfortunately they are not all of equal
merit; in fact, some have been quite indifferent in
quality. To be exact, there have been, since
November, 1900, three general exhibitions, to show
that there still exists a lively "art movement" in
Antwerp. In the first place, we find in the salons
of the " Kunstverbond " (the Art Club) a group of
ten artists or so, who, for the second time, are
exhibiting their productions. Notable among these
exhibits are the landscapes of Jaak Rosseels, the
doyen, in point of age, of all Antwerp landscapists,
who, despite his seventy years, is still as fresh and
vigorous as ever; those of Frans van Leemputten,
the distinguished paysannisie; those of Frans
Lamoriniere, who, alas ! was stricken with blind-
ness some months since; and several powerful
interpretations of nature by Hendrik Luyten.
Worthy of all praise, too, are the admirable flower
pieces by Eugeen Joors, an artist of high merit,
whose sole defect is excess of modesty ; the por-
traits and Madonnas of Edmond van Hove ; the
drawings and engravings by the gifted Frans
Lauwers; and the interesting studies by Jan
Rosier. _
At the " Kunstverbond " galleries was also held
the annual exhibition of the " Als ik Kan " Club,
in which there was nothing very striking, save
perhaps the little series of canvases by Hendrik
Rul—autumn and winter scenes from the Cam-
pine, absolutely delightful in their fresh conception
and convincing sincerity. I should also mention
some meritorious work by Frans Proost, Alfons
de Clerck, and de Mey, and the promising efforts
of two newcomers, H. Bosiers and Posenaer.
Beyond all question our two most interesting
exhibitions were those of Evert Larock, organised
by Frans Hens in an old chapel in the maritime
quarter, and of the most recent work by Hens him-
self, displayed in the artist's studio. Sad indeed
it is to think of Larock's premature death. A few
days after the close of his exhibition the poor
lad, who had long been afflicted with pulmonary
phthisis, passed peacefully away in his native
village of Cappellen-op-den-Bosch, near Malines.
The thirty or thirty-five canvases seen in this
display confirmed me in the opinion I had held
for some time—namely, that with health and
leisure he might have become one of the greatest
of Flemish impressionists. Among his pictures
136
are several interiors of rural dwellings breathing
all the modest tranquillity, all the peaceful happi-
ness of the ideal cottager's existence; admirable
works these, in colour and in light and shade.
Some of his phin-air work, too, was radiantly
clear, while many of his sketches showed rare
boldness and originality. Larock's finest work,
L'Idiot, is in the Antwerp Museum.
Hens is indisputably our foremost seascapist to-
day. There is no artist in Belgium with a stronger,
a more grandiose conception of this essentially
Dutch type of painting than he. His vision
of things, even as seen in his small canvases, is
quite epic. What poetry, too, in all his works !
What mystical moonlight effects, with ships gliding
like phantoms through the mist, and fishing-boats
floating silently on the mirror-like surface of the
waters! Not a trace of conventionality here ; not
a false note ; not a single suggestion of concession
to the bad taste and the ignorance of a certain
section of the public. Every picture by Hens is a
masterpiece of sincerity and individuality, and at
the same time a good solid piece of painting. His
works have but one defect, the defect one discovers,
moreover, in many of the finest examples of art :
it is impossible to describe their beauties in mere
words ! All one can say is this—Hens' productions
for years past have been marked by inexpressible
delicacy and tenuity.
P. DE M.
WITZERLAND.—It is needless to say
that in the death of Arnold Boecklin
Switzerland has lost one of its greatest
artists. As far as his character was con-
cerned, he was a sturdy son of the race from which
he sprang. As for his genius, it was a combination
of the richest and most varied qualities. Besides
an intensely individual artistic vision, a strikingly
original colour-sense, a fund of old-world humour,
Boecklin possessed an early Greek feeling for the
mythological conception of the forces of Nature,
and a fundamental romanticism of temper. It is
not surprising that all these qualities pressed into
the service of art should have produced work that
is unique in the domain of modern painting.
In 1853 he married a poor but beautiful Roman
girl, Angelina Tascucci. As we follow him from
this time, and watch him grappling with the
material difficulties of unrecognised genius, steadily
true to his ideal, applying himself to every branch
ANTWERP.—Since the opening of the
season the art exhibitions in Antwerp
have been as frequent as in Brussels.
Unfortunately they are not all of equal
merit; in fact, some have been quite indifferent in
quality. To be exact, there have been, since
November, 1900, three general exhibitions, to show
that there still exists a lively "art movement" in
Antwerp. In the first place, we find in the salons
of the " Kunstverbond " (the Art Club) a group of
ten artists or so, who, for the second time, are
exhibiting their productions. Notable among these
exhibits are the landscapes of Jaak Rosseels, the
doyen, in point of age, of all Antwerp landscapists,
who, despite his seventy years, is still as fresh and
vigorous as ever; those of Frans van Leemputten,
the distinguished paysannisie; those of Frans
Lamoriniere, who, alas ! was stricken with blind-
ness some months since; and several powerful
interpretations of nature by Hendrik Luyten.
Worthy of all praise, too, are the admirable flower
pieces by Eugeen Joors, an artist of high merit,
whose sole defect is excess of modesty ; the por-
traits and Madonnas of Edmond van Hove ; the
drawings and engravings by the gifted Frans
Lauwers; and the interesting studies by Jan
Rosier. _
At the " Kunstverbond " galleries was also held
the annual exhibition of the " Als ik Kan " Club,
in which there was nothing very striking, save
perhaps the little series of canvases by Hendrik
Rul—autumn and winter scenes from the Cam-
pine, absolutely delightful in their fresh conception
and convincing sincerity. I should also mention
some meritorious work by Frans Proost, Alfons
de Clerck, and de Mey, and the promising efforts
of two newcomers, H. Bosiers and Posenaer.
Beyond all question our two most interesting
exhibitions were those of Evert Larock, organised
by Frans Hens in an old chapel in the maritime
quarter, and of the most recent work by Hens him-
self, displayed in the artist's studio. Sad indeed
it is to think of Larock's premature death. A few
days after the close of his exhibition the poor
lad, who had long been afflicted with pulmonary
phthisis, passed peacefully away in his native
village of Cappellen-op-den-Bosch, near Malines.
The thirty or thirty-five canvases seen in this
display confirmed me in the opinion I had held
for some time—namely, that with health and
leisure he might have become one of the greatest
of Flemish impressionists. Among his pictures
136
are several interiors of rural dwellings breathing
all the modest tranquillity, all the peaceful happi-
ness of the ideal cottager's existence; admirable
works these, in colour and in light and shade.
Some of his phin-air work, too, was radiantly
clear, while many of his sketches showed rare
boldness and originality. Larock's finest work,
L'Idiot, is in the Antwerp Museum.
Hens is indisputably our foremost seascapist to-
day. There is no artist in Belgium with a stronger,
a more grandiose conception of this essentially
Dutch type of painting than he. His vision
of things, even as seen in his small canvases, is
quite epic. What poetry, too, in all his works !
What mystical moonlight effects, with ships gliding
like phantoms through the mist, and fishing-boats
floating silently on the mirror-like surface of the
waters! Not a trace of conventionality here ; not
a false note ; not a single suggestion of concession
to the bad taste and the ignorance of a certain
section of the public. Every picture by Hens is a
masterpiece of sincerity and individuality, and at
the same time a good solid piece of painting. His
works have but one defect, the defect one discovers,
moreover, in many of the finest examples of art :
it is impossible to describe their beauties in mere
words ! All one can say is this—Hens' productions
for years past have been marked by inexpressible
delicacy and tenuity.
P. DE M.
WITZERLAND.—It is needless to say
that in the death of Arnold Boecklin
Switzerland has lost one of its greatest
artists. As far as his character was con-
cerned, he was a sturdy son of the race from which
he sprang. As for his genius, it was a combination
of the richest and most varied qualities. Besides
an intensely individual artistic vision, a strikingly
original colour-sense, a fund of old-world humour,
Boecklin possessed an early Greek feeling for the
mythological conception of the forces of Nature,
and a fundamental romanticism of temper. It is
not surprising that all these qualities pressed into
the service of art should have produced work that
is unique in the domain of modern painting.
In 1853 he married a poor but beautiful Roman
girl, Angelina Tascucci. As we follow him from
this time, and watch him grappling with the
material difficulties of unrecognised genius, steadily
true to his ideal, applying himself to every branch