Gallery overview

Provenance Lens Fine Art, Antwerpen

Exhibition "Letterenhuisfestival: Ieder zijn Claus"
Letterenhuis, Antwerpen 2018, afb. op de omslag
van het progammaboekje

Provenance Gal. Sabine Wachters, Knokke-Heist

Literature "Folon. Sculpturen" Ed. Snoeck, Ghent 2008, cf. p. 206-207 reprod. of a larger version

Provenance coll. Philippe Braem

Literature "Jacob et Abel Grimmer. Catalogue raisonné" Reine de Bertier de Sauvigny, La Renaissance du Livre 1991, cf. reprod. 49 & 51 (reprod. of other versions)

Literature "Gust. De Smet. Kroniek, Kunsthistorische analyse" Piet Boyens, Antwerp 1989, cf. cat. nr. 81 (reprod. of a similar composition)
The authenticty of this work was confirmed to us by Mr. Piet Boyens.

Exhibition "Exposition d'oeuvres récentes de Théo Van Rysselberghe" Gal. Georges Giroux, Brussels 10-21.04.1926, nrs. 13 to 24 (12 works of this series were exhibited there)
"Retrospectieve Théo Van Rysselberghe" MSK, Ghent 1962, cat. nr. 159 (here with title "Fontaine aux statues") Literature "Théo Van Rysselberghe. Catalogue raisonné" Ronald Feltkamp, Les Éditions de l'amateur/ Éditions Racine, Brussels 2003, nr. P-061, p. 454 reprod.
"Mons & Coeur du Hainaut: Guide d'architecture moderne et contemporaine 1885-2015" Ed. Mardaga, Brussels 2015, p. 268-269 (ivm 'Le Pachy')
We thank Mr. Olivier Bertrand for the information he has kindly provided for this work and it will be included in the catalogue raisonné Provenance coll. Léon Guinotte (1870-1950), industrialist, lawyer and politician
coll. Max Boël - Anna Guinotte, Brussels
auction Palais Galliéra, Paris 15/06/1965, lot 157
auction Campo nr. 79, Antwerp 19/10/1969, lot 562




Théo Van Rysselberghe - A touch of Côte d’Azur in Mariemont

The south of Europe, in particular the Provence, had completely taken over Théo Van Rysselberghe’s artist's heart. He was enthused by the warm colours, the Mediterranean light and the enchanting environments. It is in this region that he will reside for a large part of his career. In 1917, when he was commissioned by the Brussels industrial and philanthropist Léon Guinotte (1870-1950) to paint 17 works for his villa Le Pachy in Mariemont, Van Rysselberghe was inspired by the poetry he found in the idyllic garden views of which the Côte d'Azur offers a great wealth. "Fontaine aux statues à Mazargues" proposes a view of the park and the water features around the Villa Magalone in Mazargues, Marseille. Le Corbusier will later build his famous "Cité Radieuse" on a part of this domain.

The series for Le Pachy was part of a larger-scale renovation project led by Théo's brother and Art Nouveau architect Octave Van Rysselberghe, who also designed Théo's villa in Saint-Clair. The paintings were realized between 1920 and 1924. Van Rysselberghe, being a brother of two architects and friend of Henry Van de Velde, had a desire to create grandly arranged, harmonious ensembles for domestic interiors, such as the Villa Nocard in Neuilly. Other artists of his generation, such as Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, also connected to this trend. According to them, the fundamental task of the artist lies in various aspects of life and their talent is not just limited to an easel.

In those years Van Rysselberghe abandoned the rigorous pointillism, his palette yet without losing its intensity. The touch is freer and more varied, the colors are more nuanced and blend into one another. The delicate pink, green and blue shades shine in the Mediterranean light. The shadow of the afternoon sun, Van Rysselberghes beloved moment to paint, offers some cooling. The peaceful garden is disturbed only by the rippling of the water surface, which is suggested by ingeniously applied brush strokes. An ideal image where the residents of Le Pachy can dream away, or as Emile Verhaeren states:

«Cet art plonge non point dance le rêve ou l’extase mais dance une sorte de vie choisie qu'il montre sous ses aspects de santé et beauté. The bonheur frais y circule sans qu’on songe aux idylles des anciens poètes, ni au paradis classique. La donnée n’en est en rien littéraire. Ce ne sont que de belles chairs, heureuses de se déployer, nues et claires, parmi les caresses de l’eau et du soleil. »
("This art plunges not dream dance or ecstasy but dance a kind of chosen life which it shows in its aspects of health and beauty. Fresh happiness circulates without one thinking of the idylls of ancient poets or of classical paradise. The subject is in no way literary. These are only beautiful skins, happy to unfold, naked and clear, among the caresses of water and sun. ")

Provenance Gal. Van de Loo, München
Simoens Gal., Antwerp




ALECHINSKY - FREEDOM AND HAPPINESS

"Would I start? Would I start with small lines, small crosses, small dots, with a big thing going from there to there, with a big spot that would watch me, with an idea? Would I start by stroking the canvas because I dream it’s already finished? No, I'm starting." (Alechinsky, Paris, September 1953)

And so Alechinsky starts this extraordinary work. He casually follows his feeling while he applies the acrylic to the canvas. The artist gives free rein to his hand: sometimes the lines are calm and elegant in warm ocher, sometimes he applies brusque, heavy brush strokes in bright blue and green. It is this same hand that tells Alechinsky’s fantastic stories and gives expression to the world as he experiences it. The result is a painting bursting with spontaneous energy. The gesture is explicitly present as an expressive tool, reminiscent of American abstract expressionism rather than of Cobra
The painting is a joyful color play evoking instant delight and cheerfulness. But coincidence and the subconscious also have an important role: the images veiled by the splendor of color are not at all unambiguous. Fortunately Alechinsky also loves to play with language, as illustrated by the poetic title which pushes us more or less in the direction of the painting’s story. Furthermore, we, as spectator, are challenged to use our own creativity and thus contribute to the creation of the final image. The image of the artist also becomes the image of the viewer.

"L’invention de la brouette" is the title of this oeuvre majeure – so to say in the words of the artist himself. Alechinsky does not make it easy for us as viewers. We can indeed see some wheels. Do the lines form a wheelbarrow? Does the mysterious head at the bottom represent the inventor? Maybe the artist wants to tell us about the invention of the wheel and he mingles title and image as a totum pro parte. Or maybe there is another approach that has to do with Alechinsky's trip to Lapland in 1974, where he makes this painting in the studio of his friend Bengt Lindström in Sundsvall (Sweden). The local stories and legends - which he loves so much - have certainly reached his ears and must have when creating this image. After all, it is up to the viewer and his imagination to complete the story.

Literature "César. Catalogue Raisonné. Vol. I 1947-1964" Denyse Durand-Ruel, Éditions de la Différence, Paris 1994, cf. nr. 258 reprod. Provenance Gal. Sabine Wachters, Knokke-Heist

Exhibition "Mimmo Rotella. Antologica" Palazzo Lafranchi, Pisa 2001, exhibition cat., p. 301 reprod.
"Mimmo Rotella Cinecittà" Frittelli arte contemporanea, Firenze 2006, exhibition cat., p. 72 & 188 reprod. Provenance private collection, Milano

Literature "Rik Poot" Marnix Neerman Gallery, Bruges 1986, cf. p. 15 reprod. Provenance coll. of the artist

Provenance Gal. Guy Pieters, Knokke

Literature "Gaston Bertrand. Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint" Caroline Bricmont & Serge Goyens de Heusch, Éd. Fondation Gaston Bertrand, Brussels 2001, nr. 1121 p. 147 reprod. Provenance Gal. Richard Foncke, Ghent (1969)

Literature "Théo Van Rysselberghe. Catalogue raisonné" Ronald Feltkamp, Les Éditions de l'amateur/Éditions Racine, Brussels 2003, cat. nr. 1880-004, p. 246 reprod.
To be included in the catalogue raisonné in preparation by Mr. Olivier Bertrand

Exhibition "Gustave De Smet" PvSK, Brussels 1940, nr. 54
"Gustave De Smet" Maison Haute, Bosvoorde 1959, nr. 17
"Retrospectieve tentoonstelling Gustave De Smet" KMSK, Antwerp 1961, nr. 187 Literature "Gust De Smet. De mensch en zijn werk" Emile Langui, Manteau, Brussels 1945, nr. 666
"Gust. De Smet. Kroniek, Kunsthistorische analyse" Piet Boyens, Antwerp 1989, nr. 953 reprod. Provenance coll. Tony Herbert, Kortrijk




WOMAN BY THE WINDOW ON A HOLIDAY (1935) – SUBDUED EXPRESSIONISM

"From now on I want to endeavor to depict inner life, expressively through form and color."

Sometimes ‘Flemish expressionism’ tends to serve as a catchall for artworks showing similar stylistic characteristics, while in fact their executing artists had very different ideas. Permeke, for example, swore by his unbridled freedom and instinctive methodology, while Gustave De Smet was focused on the reflection of inner life within a reasoned and ordered composition.

In 1930 De Smet moved to Deurle, where he would stay for the rest of his life. His immediate surroundings provided him with inspiration. "Woman by the window on a holiday" depicts a dreamy woman in a no-frills interior. The bare ornaments reflect the woman’s immanent peace of mind: a cup on the cupboard, a painting against the wall, a vase with flowers.

The archaic figure beams with calm and simplicity, thus indicating the scene’s timelessness. The open window however, offers a peak into daily village life. De Smet uses the two flags as a a minimalist but ingenious trick to introduce the festivities into the living room and add a hint of frivolity.

The sturdiness of De Smets previous years smoothens during this period. Deep black tones complement the rich hues of earthly colors enveloping the scene with a velvety effect. Color gets more freedom and the brushstroke even becomes visible: a few precise strokes make the tabletop vibrate and the heavy clouds swell in the distance, without falling into cacophony.

Exhibition "Salon Kunst van Heden" Feestzaal, Antwerp 1940, nr. 189
"Edgard Tytgat" Société Royale des Beaux-Arts, Verviers 1941, nr. 24
"Edgard Tytgat" PvSK, Brussels 1942, nr. 20
"Exposicion de Arte Belga Contemporaneo" Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires 1948, nr. 74
"48e Vierjaarlijks Salon van Schone Kunsten" MSK, Ghent 1950, nr. 476 Literature "Edgard Tytgat. Beschrijvende catalogus van zijn geschilderde oeuvre, opgemaakt met de medewerking van Mevrouw Gisèle Ollinger-Zinque" Albert Dasnoy, Laconti S.A., Brussels 1965, nr. 361 reprod. Provenance coll. Mrs. Maria Tytgat, Brussels

Exhibition "Rétrospective des oeuvres de Jakob Smits" PvSK, Brussels 1931, nr. 134
"Retrospectieve Jakob Smits" Museum Boymans, Rotterdam 1937, nr. 111
"Herdenkingstentoonstelling Jakob Smits" Gal. Apollo, Brussels 1943, nr. 11
"Jakob Smits" Museum Albert Van Dyck, Schilde 2001, nr. 85 reprod.
"Ontmoeting met Jakob Smits, schilder der Kempen" Adrien Swartenbroeckx, Koninklijk Leesgezelschap, Hasselt 2003, p. 112 reprod. Literature "Flandre. Essai sur l'art flamand depuis 1880. L'impressionnisme" Luc & Paul Haesaerts, Éditions des Chroniques du Jour, Paris 1931, p. 308 reprod. Provenance Mrs. Jakob Smits
coll. F. Van Gelder, Brussels
coll. Louis Franck, Antwerp

Exhibition Gal. Le Centaure, Brussels (according to transmission) Provenance coll. Sam Salz

Provenance Gal. Veranneman, Brussels, acquired there by the previous owner

Literature "Amédée Cortier. De abstracte werken 1961-1975" Eric Pil, Ludion/Cera 2007, nr. 126, p. 157 reprod.
"Amédée Cortier" Ronny Van de Velde 2018, p. 62-63 reprod.

Literature "George Grard. Monografie/Oeuvre-Catalogus" Stichting George Grard, Ed. Stichting Kunstboek 1995, cf. cat. nr. 105

Literature To be included in the archives of Maurice Wyckaert Provenance coll. Willy Van den Bussche, Bruges

Provenance Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner