Gallery overview

Exhibition "Maximilien Luce - Les néo-impressionnistes" Musée Municipal, Saint-Denis 1958
"Le début du siècle aux Indépendants 1902-1905" Grand Palais, Paris 1967
"Théo Van Rysselberghe" Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels 2006; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague 2006, p. 202 ill. Literature "Théo Van Rysselberghe. Catalogue raisonné" Ronald Feltkamp, Les Éditions de l'amateur/Éditions Racine, Brussels 2003, nr. 1910-008 ill. (titled there "La terrasse")
To be included in the catalogue raisonné in preparation by Olivier Bertrand Provenance auction Ader-Picard-Tajan, Palais d'Orsay, Paris 26.06.1979, nr. 85 ill.



FLAMING IMPRESSIONISM


On this sunny autumn afternoon, a company of elegant ladies are enjoying the idyllic garden. Nature conjures up a fairytale decor in the most exuberant colors. The ladies each pursue their own meticulous choreography, their discreet presence being in harmony with the splendid nature. The composition is build up by the voluminous power of the colors. A few minimal architectural elements ensure balance. The staircase is an impressive showpiece, but its monumentality is overgrown with lush vegetation.

In "Au pied du grand escalier" Van Rysselberghe uses his brush with a lively sense of freedom and spontaneity. The short brush strokes are still reminiscent of his rigorous pointillé technique, but are now less rigid and buzzing with energy. The strokes unfold in a luscious palette of beautiful autumn colors. Alternating hues of flaming orange and red, soft shades of ocher, and fresh verdant green and lavender blue, display Van Rysselberghe's masterly painting skills.

The gardens of Félicien Rops in Essonnes in the Île-de-France region served as inspiration for this painting. The intense light and the way colors create a feeling of warmth are reminiscent of Van Rysselberghe's Mediterranean works. He designed a grandiose and harmonious ensemble for the Villa Nocard in Neuilly near Paris, in which he integrated bucolic garden views into the interior. The monumental panels he designed were created after meticulous preparations, which also included "Au pied du grand escalier" (1909-10).

Literature "Victor Rousseau 1865-1954" Denise Vanden Eeckhoudt, Éd. Bern'Art, Brussels 2003, cf. p. 79 (im. of another copy)

Exhibition "Georges Lemmen" Museum van Elsene, Elsene 1997, cat. nr. 168 ill. Literature The authenticity was confirmed to us by Olivier Bertrand and this work will be included in the online catalogue raisonné

Literature "Antoine-Louis Barye. Catalogue raisonné des sculptures" Michel Poletti & Alain Richarme, Éditions Gallimard, Paris 2000, cf. nr. F34

Exhibition Gal. Artel, Genève 1975
"Roel D'Haese" KMSK, Antwerp 1976
"Roel D'Haese" Gal. Claude Bernard, Paris, 1976, ill. on cover and ill.
"Roel D'Haese" PvSK, Brussels 1978
"Roel D'Haese. Sculptures et Dessins" Gal. Claude Bernard, Paris 1987, cat. nr. 18, ill. on cover and ill. nrs. 18a, 18b, 18c and 18d
"Hommage aan Permeke en Roel D'Haese" Veranneman Foundation, Kruishoutem 1996
"Roel D'Haese - Marcel Pouget" Espace Paul Rebeyrolle, Eymoutiers 2004 Literature "Roel D'Haese. Sculpturen-Sculptures" Catalogue Raisonné, Various authors, Lannoo, Tielt 2007, p. 128-129 & 132 ill. Provenance coll. Arthur Vandekerckhove, Gages



SWEET MONSTER


Ma doudou turns her head in a recurring movement. Her body seems to doubt and have a will of its own, moving in the opposite direction, while her feet seem to be utterly lost. Her heavy body wobbles on skinny legs dancing on her feet, the soles of which barely touch the ground. The hopelessly short arms rhythmically go up. It is a miracle how she manages to keep her fragile balance despite gravity.

Ma Doudou's soft features, with eyes closed and relaxed lips, radiates warm tenderness. It is the Creole name for "my sweetheart" or "my nanny". She is a caring person, who is at the same time vulnerable but also protective. In fact, her assembled body and exceptional size are repulsive and menacing. Ma Doudou wears an armor of rough modeling, sharp protrusions and indefinable body parts that protect her inherent softness.

Roel D'Haese creates erratic creatures. He makes a jumble of human body parts, some touchingly underdeveloped, others dramatically enlarged, together forming an anatomically absurd body. Its human qualities are unmistakable, but it requires imagination and effort to look beyond the monstrous and find empathy. D'haese leaves his sculptures to the accidental, the unexpected, the fantastic and the grotesque. They dance through fantasy, dream and nightmare.

Provenance Gal. Willy D'Huyser, Brussels (acquired by the present owner)

Literature "Amédée Cortier" Ronny Van de Velde 2018, p. 108-109 ill.

Literature "Richard Texier. Sculptures" Zéno Bianu & Pascal Bonafoux, Éd. du Patrimoine, Paris 2011, cf. p. 127, nr. 81 ill. Provenance Piretti Art Gal., Knokke

Literature "Richard Texier. Sculptures" Zéno Bianu & Pascal Bonafoux, Éd. du Patrimoine, Paris 2011, cf. p. 68, nr. 19 ill. Provenance Piretti Art Gal., Knokke

Provenance coll. Baron Robert Rothschild, (Belgian diplomat 1911-1998)
auction Christie's, London 21.03.2002, nr. 106

Literature "Gust De Smet. De mensch en zijn werk" Emile Langui, Manteau, Brussels, 1945, nr. 57
"Gust. De Smet. Kroniek, Kunsthistorische analyse" Piet Boyens, Antwerp 1989, nr. 66 ill. Provenance coll. Richard De Moor, Ghent
auction Campo, Antwerp 1968, nr. 58

Provenance the artist's family

Literature "James Ensor" A. Taevernier 1973, cf. nr. 83

Literature The authenticity was confirmed to us by Mr. Olivier Bertrand and the work will be included in the catalogue raisonné

Provenance Bernaerts, Antwerp 1998, purchased by the current owner

Exhibition "75 jarig bestaan van de Galerij Campo" Antwerp, 20.10-05.11.1972, nr. 122 ill. Literature "Léon De Smet" Piet Boyens & Hans Bosschaert, Lannoo 1994, p. 74 ill.

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





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 "Veranneman. Visie en passie" Uitgeverij Lannoo,
Tielt 2002, p. 306-307 afb.
Opgenomen in het Archivio Gio Pomodoro Provenance Stichting Veranneman, Kruishoutem