The woman takes center stage

After his return from the Netherlands and his brief stay with Constant Permeke in Ostend, the graceful curves of the river Lys lured Frits Van den Berghe to Bachte-Maria-Leerne and Afsnee. Following the turbulent war years, a period of tranquility and relief came for the artist. He was in close contact with intellectuals such as André De Ridder and Paul Gustave Van Hecke, promoters of new expressionist art, and took part in the founding of the art magazine Sélection in 1920.

Influenced by fauvist and cubist design he created a combination of expressionist and surrealist elements. Art historian Emile Langui described his work during this time as: “ A bright variety of colors. The gloomy spectrum of earthy tones, nut brown, bronze green and indigo blue from the late Dutch and Ostend period are abandoned and give way to other, vivid harmonies in which new colors like white, pink, vermilion and dangerous purple are leading.”

Between 1924 and 1926, Van den Berghe conceived various series in mixed techniques of gouache, watercolor and pencil, such as the cycle ‘The woman’ and unfinished series as ‘The fair’ and ‘Country life’. These series were very important in the oeuvre of Van den Berghe as he could freely express his humor, satiric qualities and talent for sharp characterization.

The gouache “Jack of hearts” is part of the series that revolves around the feminine theme. Van den Berghe playfully addresses the relationship between man and woman, resulting in a caricatural and witty design with humorous and sometimes bitter and moralizing undertones. Since the Renaissance, the Jack of hearts has symbolized youthful love and passion. He follows his heart and embarks on adventure. But in Frits Van den Berghe's composition, he ventures into unfamiliar territory. He looks wide-eyed down at the scene unfolding beneath him. Is he dreaming? The naked bodies, a tangle of arms and legs, are depicted vaguely – unlike the costume of the gentleman. Playing cards symbols swirl around him.

Due to the rigid and sculptural design, the composition has a very modernist feel. In the expressionist and hallucinatory atmosphere of this series the artist’s interest for surrealism is already showing. Dreams and imagination are slowly entering his oeuvre, and from 1926 onwards, this will culminate in a radical break with reality