DOI issue:
No. 259 (October 1914)
DOI article:Studio-talk
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21211#0075
Studio-Talk
■
<rvO—»
; WATERLOO BRIDGE, LONDON " FROM AN ETCHING BY JAN POORTENAAR
an ever present attribute of his work, and it is this
which in conjunction with his varied methods of
treatment has gained for him the appreciation of
connoisseurs and critics. It should be added that
as a painter also Mr. Poortenaar has given proof
of his artistic capacity.
BRUSSELS.—The photographs of Victor
Rousseau's busts of the King and Queen
of the Belgians from which our repro-
ductions of these fine pieces of sculpture
have been made, were addressed to us from the
Belgian capital by our esteemed correspondent,
Mons. Fernand Khnopff, only a few hours before
the city was invaded and occupied by the German
Kaiser's armed hosts and since then up to the time
of going to press we have been without any intelli-
gence of Mons. Khnopff. The tragic events of
the past two or three months invest these works of
art with a quite peculiar interest. The heroism with
which the Belgians, under the leadership of their
valiant King and encouraged by his Royal Consort,
70
have resisted the onward rush of the invading
armies has evoked the admiration of the whole
civilised world, while equally universal has been
the horror aroused by the brutalities and wanton
destruction wrought by the soldiers of a nation
which has always so loudly boasted of its
" Kultur."
As regards the artist, it is scarcely necessary to
say anything here, for he is in the very front rank
of Belgian sculptors of the present day, and his
work is by this time almost as well known outside
Belgium as within. Numerous examples of it
have appeared in this magazine, and Mons. Khnopff
has, in an article he contributed to our pages in
1907, given the chief facts of his career. A more
comprehensive study of his life and work has been
written by Mons. Maurice des Ombiaux (G. Van
Oest et Cie, Brussels), who quotes in the artist's
own words the motives which have guided him in
the pursuit of his art: " Une chose m'importe, c'est
le spectacle de la vie, de toute la vie, physiologique,
■
<rvO—»
; WATERLOO BRIDGE, LONDON " FROM AN ETCHING BY JAN POORTENAAR
an ever present attribute of his work, and it is this
which in conjunction with his varied methods of
treatment has gained for him the appreciation of
connoisseurs and critics. It should be added that
as a painter also Mr. Poortenaar has given proof
of his artistic capacity.
BRUSSELS.—The photographs of Victor
Rousseau's busts of the King and Queen
of the Belgians from which our repro-
ductions of these fine pieces of sculpture
have been made, were addressed to us from the
Belgian capital by our esteemed correspondent,
Mons. Fernand Khnopff, only a few hours before
the city was invaded and occupied by the German
Kaiser's armed hosts and since then up to the time
of going to press we have been without any intelli-
gence of Mons. Khnopff. The tragic events of
the past two or three months invest these works of
art with a quite peculiar interest. The heroism with
which the Belgians, under the leadership of their
valiant King and encouraged by his Royal Consort,
70
have resisted the onward rush of the invading
armies has evoked the admiration of the whole
civilised world, while equally universal has been
the horror aroused by the brutalities and wanton
destruction wrought by the soldiers of a nation
which has always so loudly boasted of its
" Kultur."
As regards the artist, it is scarcely necessary to
say anything here, for he is in the very front rank
of Belgian sculptors of the present day, and his
work is by this time almost as well known outside
Belgium as within. Numerous examples of it
have appeared in this magazine, and Mons. Khnopff
has, in an article he contributed to our pages in
1907, given the chief facts of his career. A more
comprehensive study of his life and work has been
written by Mons. Maurice des Ombiaux (G. Van
Oest et Cie, Brussels), who quotes in the artist's
own words the motives which have guided him in
the pursuit of his art: " Une chose m'importe, c'est
le spectacle de la vie, de toute la vie, physiologique,