William Degouve de Nuncques and Nocturne at the Royal Park

'Nocturne at the Royal Park, Brussels' (1897) by William Degouve de Nuncques; Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Yesterday I visited the new exhibition on Symbolism, Dreams of Nature, at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. There were beautiful paintings on display, some with incredible lighting, but I cannot post any of them here today, simply because the date of birth/death of the artists don't match. So I searched for a suitable artist and inspired by yesterday's exhibition, decided to post a painting of Belgian painter William Degouve de Nuncques, born on 28 February 1867. I had never heard of him but apparently the wonderful Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, that I have visited a couple of times, has the best collection of his paintings. He was a Symbolist painter and a major influence on Surrealism. His art is magical and mysterious and bears the influence of Symbolist poetry. I love this painting and I can imagine what it must be like seeing this in real life. Entering a room and being completely drawn in by the incredible light. This image from the internet certainly doesn't do the painting justice but it definitely makes you want to see the real thing.