DOI issue:
No. 166 (May 1915)
DOI article:Buschmann, P.: Belgian artists in England, [3]
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21212#0270
Belgian Artists in England
“LE PROFESSEUR CHANDELON ’
BY THOMAS VINgOTTE
Brussels are decoratively effective at this height,
but seen at a short distance they appear somewhat
superficial; and the same remark may be applied
to his Heraut de Glide and Id Art Fla?nand.
A complete antithesis to these artists would
have been found in their contemporary Jef
Lambeaux, rather a materialist, untouched by any
spiritual aspiration, but in his overwhelm-
ing power of realisation one of the
strongest figures in Belgian art. Un-
fortunately, he . was not represented in
the exhibition at Burlington House.
Constantin Meunier holds a place ot
his own in Belgian—and in European-
art. Although belonging to the same
generation, he cannot be mentioned
amongst the sculptors just referred to.
He was a painter for the greater part of
his career, and only began to produce his
world-renowned sculptures at an advanced
age. He was ever an enthusiastic ad-
mirer of Greek and Italian masters, and
intimately penetrated the secrets of their
art; but no direct influence of any kind
can be traced in his work ; he expressed
his own strong personality, and before all
his infinite pity for suffering mankind.
As Millet did with the peasant on the
field, Meunier revealed us the beauty
and magnitude of the modern toiler
performing his daily task deep down in
dark coal-pits or in cyclopean ironworks.
Socialistic tendencies might have been
264
discovered in his sculpture, but, in
fact, his art ranges far beyond every
doctrine and appeals to eternal
human feelings. Le Grisou (Fire-
damp), here exhibited, must have
touched many a heart, especially
now when thousands of sturdy sons
or husbands lie stretched on the
field, and thousands of women are
heartbroken in speechless grief. It
is, indeed, a great work, and one
that will be eloquent for all time,
like the noblest Pieta conceived by
any master of the Renaissance.
In the vigorous phalanx of living
sculptors we note Comte Jacques
de Lalaing, the author of the beau-
tiful memorial erected in Brussels
in honour of the English soldiers
who fell in the battle of Waterloo.
He was represented here by three
busts : Genie, Souvenir de Florence, and a Portrait.
Thomas Vingotte, an unrivalled portraitist, wonder-
fully combines psychological expression with
thorough study of form and movement; he ex-
hibited the vivid bust of Professor Chandelon and
a mighty torso of a Triton, a study for a fountain
in the Chateau d’Ardenne. We mention further :
“ LE CURE-POETE H. VERRIEST ”
BY JULES LAGAE
“LE PROFESSEUR CHANDELON ’
BY THOMAS VINgOTTE
Brussels are decoratively effective at this height,
but seen at a short distance they appear somewhat
superficial; and the same remark may be applied
to his Heraut de Glide and Id Art Fla?nand.
A complete antithesis to these artists would
have been found in their contemporary Jef
Lambeaux, rather a materialist, untouched by any
spiritual aspiration, but in his overwhelm-
ing power of realisation one of the
strongest figures in Belgian art. Un-
fortunately, he . was not represented in
the exhibition at Burlington House.
Constantin Meunier holds a place ot
his own in Belgian—and in European-
art. Although belonging to the same
generation, he cannot be mentioned
amongst the sculptors just referred to.
He was a painter for the greater part of
his career, and only began to produce his
world-renowned sculptures at an advanced
age. He was ever an enthusiastic ad-
mirer of Greek and Italian masters, and
intimately penetrated the secrets of their
art; but no direct influence of any kind
can be traced in his work ; he expressed
his own strong personality, and before all
his infinite pity for suffering mankind.
As Millet did with the peasant on the
field, Meunier revealed us the beauty
and magnitude of the modern toiler
performing his daily task deep down in
dark coal-pits or in cyclopean ironworks.
Socialistic tendencies might have been
264
discovered in his sculpture, but, in
fact, his art ranges far beyond every
doctrine and appeals to eternal
human feelings. Le Grisou (Fire-
damp), here exhibited, must have
touched many a heart, especially
now when thousands of sturdy sons
or husbands lie stretched on the
field, and thousands of women are
heartbroken in speechless grief. It
is, indeed, a great work, and one
that will be eloquent for all time,
like the noblest Pieta conceived by
any master of the Renaissance.
In the vigorous phalanx of living
sculptors we note Comte Jacques
de Lalaing, the author of the beau-
tiful memorial erected in Brussels
in honour of the English soldiers
who fell in the battle of Waterloo.
He was represented here by three
busts : Genie, Souvenir de Florence, and a Portrait.
Thomas Vingotte, an unrivalled portraitist, wonder-
fully combines psychological expression with
thorough study of form and movement; he ex-
hibited the vivid bust of Professor Chandelon and
a mighty torso of a Triton, a study for a fountain
in the Chateau d’Ardenne. We mention further :
“ LE CURE-POETE H. VERRIEST ”
BY JULES LAGAE