DOI article:
Van der Veer, Lenore: The art of Victor Gilsoul
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20710#0141
Victor Gilsoul
short period of hesitation became quite sure of
himself again, and more complete in the control of
his talent. He had eliminated certain bad tones
which had long embarrassed him, with the result
that he was capable of making the light vibrate still
more wondrously in his beautiful, rich landscapes.
Gilsoul's studies are made direct from nature,
and he loves best the land of his fathers for his
inspirations. The canals of Flanders, the old
windmills, rugged and sturdy against the sky,
the softly flowing streams, rich in reflections of
swaying branches, splendid trees standing out
in golden softness against the sunset after-glow ;
these are the things in nature which Gilsoul
best loves to paint, and these are the things
that his temperament is undoubtedly best suited
to interpret.
He spends most of his time at Nieuport on the
Belgian coast, one of the most beautiful spots in
the country, where most of his pictures had their
conception. His life is wrapped in his art, and few
of the delights which other men find in other pur-
suits and pleasures hold the least attraction for him.
His is not the temperament of the dreamer, but
rather that of the restless spirit always in search of
fresh delights in nature, of still deeper charms to
fathom, and he continually seeks for new inspira-
tions and new methods of dealing with them when
they come to him.
It comes to but few artists in their early thirties
to know the high reputation that has fallen to
Victor Gilsoul, but so splendid is his ambition, and
so modest his opinion of his own success, that to
him there seems but little accomplished so far.
Nothing could bode more happily for his future
than this, and little by little, in response to his
craving for a gathering of all that is finest and best
in his art, his work will no doubt finally reach a
point of development that will establish him per-
manently amongst the first rank of present-day
painters in Belgium. Lenore van der Veer.
By the deaths recently of Mr. Arthur Melville
and Mr. James Archer the British school loses two
artists of distinction. Both were members of the
Royal Scottish Academy, in which Mr. Melville
held the rank of Associate, and Mr. Archer that of
Academician. Mr. Archer had attained the age of
eighty years, and during the long period over
which his working life extended he was prominent
as a painter of portraits and historical pictures.
Mr. Melville was his junior by some thirty-four
years, and held a position in the front rank of the
Scottish painters of the younger school. His oil
pictures were strongly handled and marked by
much originality of manner, but, perhaps, the
highest manifestation of his capacities was given in
his admirable water colours. Of this branch of
art practice he was undeniably a master. He was
elected an Associate of the Royal Society of
Painters in Water Colours in 1888, and a full
member in 1900.
'NEAR THE BELGIAN COAST BY VICTOR GILSOUL
(In possession of H.M. the King of the Belgians)
124
short period of hesitation became quite sure of
himself again, and more complete in the control of
his talent. He had eliminated certain bad tones
which had long embarrassed him, with the result
that he was capable of making the light vibrate still
more wondrously in his beautiful, rich landscapes.
Gilsoul's studies are made direct from nature,
and he loves best the land of his fathers for his
inspirations. The canals of Flanders, the old
windmills, rugged and sturdy against the sky,
the softly flowing streams, rich in reflections of
swaying branches, splendid trees standing out
in golden softness against the sunset after-glow ;
these are the things in nature which Gilsoul
best loves to paint, and these are the things
that his temperament is undoubtedly best suited
to interpret.
He spends most of his time at Nieuport on the
Belgian coast, one of the most beautiful spots in
the country, where most of his pictures had their
conception. His life is wrapped in his art, and few
of the delights which other men find in other pur-
suits and pleasures hold the least attraction for him.
His is not the temperament of the dreamer, but
rather that of the restless spirit always in search of
fresh delights in nature, of still deeper charms to
fathom, and he continually seeks for new inspira-
tions and new methods of dealing with them when
they come to him.
It comes to but few artists in their early thirties
to know the high reputation that has fallen to
Victor Gilsoul, but so splendid is his ambition, and
so modest his opinion of his own success, that to
him there seems but little accomplished so far.
Nothing could bode more happily for his future
than this, and little by little, in response to his
craving for a gathering of all that is finest and best
in his art, his work will no doubt finally reach a
point of development that will establish him per-
manently amongst the first rank of present-day
painters in Belgium. Lenore van der Veer.
By the deaths recently of Mr. Arthur Melville
and Mr. James Archer the British school loses two
artists of distinction. Both were members of the
Royal Scottish Academy, in which Mr. Melville
held the rank of Associate, and Mr. Archer that of
Academician. Mr. Archer had attained the age of
eighty years, and during the long period over
which his working life extended he was prominent
as a painter of portraits and historical pictures.
Mr. Melville was his junior by some thirty-four
years, and held a position in the front rank of the
Scottish painters of the younger school. His oil
pictures were strongly handled and marked by
much originality of manner, but, perhaps, the
highest manifestation of his capacities was given in
his admirable water colours. Of this branch of
art practice he was undeniably a master. He was
elected an Associate of the Royal Society of
Painters in Water Colours in 1888, and a full
member in 1900.
'NEAR THE BELGIAN COAST BY VICTOR GILSOUL
(In possession of H.M. the King of the Belgians)
124