Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Charles Hermans: Belgian Painter

Charles Hermans (1839-1924), was born in Brussels and died in Menton, France (at the edge of the Italian border on the Riviera). As this brief biography indicates, his art training was not formally academic. Yet his style was representational and almost without modernist technical influence. Where he differed mostly from pure academia was in his selection of subjects, as can be seen below.

Gallery

Monks Playing Bowls - 1867
An early painting influenced by what he saw in Italy.

Portrait of a Young Woman
Free brushwork, aside from the face.

The Flower Seller
The flowers stand out, the rest is flat.

Two Dancers
Some color overlays here along with plenty of visible brushwork.

La belle voisine
I wonder if she was Hermans' pretty neighbor.

Circe
Modern-dress Ulysses episode.

Le bal masque à l'Opera
This is the most modernist-influenced of the images shown here; sketchy background, but more carefully painted foreground subjects.

At the Masquerade

L'aube - 1875
Hermans' career breakout painting depicting the morning after a ball or similar event.

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