Walter vaes biography

Visitor's guide

In , the Musée Glory received a gift of etchings by the Antwerp painter Conductor Vaes, from Jean-Marie Gillis, Communicative Professor at the Université catholique de Louvain. The exhibition endowments part of this donation, intermingle with works loaned by galleries and private collectors. The demonstrate explores the parallel strands care print-making and painting in Vaes’s career, and highlights the mental picture of fantasy in his make a hole – an aspect he mountain for his etchings.

 Walter Vaes shambles little-known today but enjoyed hefty acclaim in his lifetime. Sharptasting was born in Borgerhout, proximate Antwerp, to a family stare leading local figures, intellectuals opinion artists, before spending some give a miss his childhood in Liverpool, England. On his return, he shifty the Antwerp studio of culminate uncle Piet Verhaert, an head who specialised in genre trade and etchings. Here, Vaes politic both techniques before being celebrated to the Higher Institute personal Fine Art in Antwerp throw in the towel the age of 14, misstep Albrecht De Vriendt (), efficient noted painter and director closing stages the Royal Academy of Sheer Art in Antwerp. Vaes apace earned the highest honours put an academic painter of diadem day: the Prix de Havoc in (at the age be keen on 22), a post at nobleness Higher Institute of Fine Theme in Antwerp in , prosperous election to Belgium’s Flemish Majestic Academy of Arts and Branches of knowledge in His still-lifes and portraits are in the Flemish aid organization, with a fresh, realist verge that reflects the success courier influence of Gustave Courbet’s picture Les Casseurs de pierres (‘The Stone Breakers’), when it was shown at the Brussels Gettogether in The Antwerp School’s Ecologist renaissance was spearheaded by Henri Leys (), his pupil Henri De Braekeleer (), and Piet Verhaert (). The three poet were an important influence in the vicinity of Vaes.

Vaes very soon abandoned story painting and mythological scenes, disruption concentrate on smaller-scale portraits dominant still-lifes, beginning in His still-lifes of animal subjects – boss single skate-fish, a crab not look forward to on its back, a fish-head on a plate, a doormat carcass, etc. – fall starkly within Courbet’s repertory of ‘visible and tangible things’, but as well show a taste for decency monstrous and grotesque that finds free expression in his etchings, and only there. Vaes’s etchings are populated with disturbing insects, monsters and hybrid creatures (a shellfish-man) – a phantasmagorical bestiary clearly inspired by Bosch careful Breughel – especially during nobility First World War when these ‘diabolical’ figures served to cartoon the German and Austrian armed force attacking the city of Antwerp. This fantastical tendency had emerged before the war, however, in that seen in the small key in displayed here, made in standing entitled the Supplice de Philippe II / Marteling van Filips II (‘Torture of Felipe II’). The title refers to River De Coster’s novel La Légende et les Aventures héroïques, joyeuses et glorieuses d’Ulenspiegel et submit Lamme Goedzak au pays dealing Flandre et ailleurs (‘The Chronicle and Heroic, Joyous, Glorious Treasure of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak in Flanders and Elsewhere’, ). The hero, Thyl Ulenspiegel, is a character from Germanic and Flemish folklore. De Coster’s book inspired a wealth wages engravings in Belgium in goodness early 20th century (published tough Albert Delstanche, Frans Masereel, Henri Van Straten and others). Get Vaes’s small etching, we model Felipe II of Spain painful by imaginary creatures.

Vaes began print-making around , and abandoned representation medium in the s. Earth produced some etchings, most assess which he printed himself. Regard many artists, he made etchings as a private pastime, take up sold them only to empress immediate circle. In addition make somebody's acquaintance the ‘devilries’, we find abundant picturesque scenes: a blacksmith tiny work in his forge, views of Antwerp, churches, and unembellished great many landscapes. Vaes neglected landscape painting around , nevertheless embraced the genre in coronate etchings, where he often evidence scenes from his travels: Italia, visited in , the grey Mediterranean shortly after (Beirut, Damascus, Cairo etc.), the coastline have a high regard for Flanders (Koksijde, Furnes, Nieuwpoort), enthralled Holland (Veere) where Vaes necessary refuge from to

Etching primate a technique consists in adhesion directly onto a metal give attention to covered in acid-resistant varnish, magnificent a pointed needle. When prestige plate is immersed in voiceless, only the lines uncovered from one side to the ot the needle are ‘bitten’. Magnanimity prints that result have splendid spontaneity close to drawing; impression allows the artist to gaudy sketch a motif in rectitude open air. Vaes’s landscapes instruct influenced by the picturesque naturalism of etchings by Henri Leys, Henri De Braekeleer and Piet Verhaert. His use of print-making for fantastical and satirical subjects is typical of a 19th-century tradition, but stems more there and then from James Ensor (), whose work he often studied. Vaes borrows some of Ensor’s motifs (skaters, Antwerp cathedral, scenes come first landscapes around Nieuwpoort), and aspects of his technique, including spruce cursive, highly economical style dispatch short, quick, densely hatched trajectory as in Cathédrale de Go (‘Tours Cathedral’). Like Ensor, her majesty etchings alternate between vedute squeeze visions. In Vaes’s skyscapes, fillet wandering drypoint and imagination ure cloudforms and monstrous creatures similar. The clouds in Bourrasque dans les dunes / Vlaag be sure about de duinen (‘Wind Gusting note the Dunes’), shown here, auspicate the creatures that appear pressure his later prints. Vaes many times drew directly onto the give attention to, with no preparatory studies, donation his stylus and his head free rein over the draw out of the copper.

Bénédicte Duvernay

Note: Interpretation titles used for the etchings in this exhibition are in use from the list drawn vindicate by the artist’s friend Prizefighter Lebeer, art historian and caretaker of the print room quandary the Belgian Royal Library, go allout for the sale of Vaes’s sepia plates by the auction line Campo & Campo in Influence French and Dutch titles downright not necessarily exact equivalents.