Anthony van Dyck and Dorothy, Lady Dacre

Anthony van Dyck, born on 22 March 1599 and died on 9 December 1641

François-Joseph Navez and Holy Women

'Holy Women' (c. 1820) by François-Joseph Navez; Musée du Louvre, Paris

Today's choice was quickly made. I had never heard of Belgian Neoclassical painter François-Joseph Navez, born on 16 November 1787 and died on 12 October 1869 (Wikipedia doesn't give the exact dates, but Safran Arts does), but one look at the images of his paintings, I knew I didn't have to search any further. Probably the reason why I like his paintings is because they are very reminiscent of Jacques-Louis David and it turns out that he was David's pupil. After his studies in Paris, he went to Rome where he made the acquaintance of Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, that other great Neoclassical painter who had also been a pupil of David. He was a great admirer of Ingres and his work reflected Ingres's combination of Neoclassical and Romantic style. Returning to Belgium, he became the director of the Brussels Academy. His history and genre paintings as well as his portraits display rich colours and a figurative approach typical of Neoclassicism. The painting I have chosen for today is such an example, and as you might see, even more Ingres-like than David-like. I think it is beautiful and also found a site that shows you the restauration of this artwork. But besides this painting, there are many that I like. I think that Massacre of the Innocents (1824) is really beautiful too and should maybe have deserved this post but you can't win them all. 

René Magritte and The Son of Man

'The Son of Man' (1964) by René Magritte; Private Collection

I'm not very fond of Surrealist paintings. I actually forgot to do a post on Salvador Dalí, the greatest of the Surrealist painters, and now his date of birth and death have come and gone. I probably would have struggled to find a painting I like because I don't really like Dalí's paintings. I find them interesting though and there is always a lot to see and discover. So if I continue this blog next year, I might include him, just because I cannot ignore him really. But having said that, today's Surrealist Belgian painter René Magritte, born on 21 November 1898 and died on 15 August 1967, I do like. He displays ordinary objects in an unusual context. He was interested in the mystery of the visible everyday reality and wanted to create poetic imagery. His paintings are symbolic and often humorous. His early paintings were in the Impressionist style and in 1926, he made his first Surrealist painting, The Lost Jockey, and he held his first exhibition in Brussels in 1927. Today´s painting The Son of Man is probably Magritte´s most famous work. Even if you wouldn´t know it was painted by Magritte, chances that you have seen this image before are high. About the painting Magritte himself said: ´At least it hides the face partly. Well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but hidden, the face of the person. It´s something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.´ (Quote: Wikipedia)

Alfred Stevens and A Young Woman Reading

'Young Woman Reading' (1856) by Alfred Stevens; no location found

I could have chosen many other paintings by the Belgian artist Alfred Stevens, born on May 11, 1823, but since this painting of a woman reading is my profile picture, it would be nice to post it here for you and link it to its painter. I got to know him when visiting an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum a couple of years ago and fell in love with his paintings. Stevens studied art in Brussels and went to Paris to join his brother who was already there. He studied the works of Dutch painters such as Gerard ter Borch and Gabriel Metsu. Paintings from his realist period illustrate the life of the lower classes but he became well-known for his paintings of elegant women. Stevens didn't portray them as mythological or historical figures but as modern women, from the Parisian bourgeoisie. They're fashionably dressed in silk and lace fabrics, and set in stylish interiors with detail to objects, especially oriental ones. The painting of today was not on display at the exhibition though. I love this image. Imagine sitting and reading like that, your book resting in your lap of soft layers of skirt. You can almost hear it rustling with every single movement you make. Your foot rests comfortably on the velvet pillow in front of you. Beautiful colours and details! I couldn't find the painting's location, but a lot of Stevens' work is in private collections so I assume this one might be as well. So thank God for oeuvre exhibitions! These exhibitions allow the public to view wonderful art which otherwise would have remained hidden to us.

Petrus van Schendel and A Moonlit Vegetable Market

'A Moonlit Vegetable Market' (no date found) by Petrus van Schendel; Private Collection

If you google Dutch-Belgian artist Petrus van Schendel, born on 21 April 1806, it is immediately evident what he is known for. Van Schendel was influenced by 17th-century Dutch painting and specialised in candlelit genre scenes, of interiors or night markets, in the tradition of Gerard Dou. I like the chiaroscuro effect that his paintings have. Wikipedia doesn't have an English page on this artist but if you read Dutch, then here's the link. In France, Van Schendel was nicknamed 'Monsieur Chandelle' because of his candlelit scenes. 

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.