1. Gustave De Smet (1877-1943), The box, 1928, oil
on canvas, 153 x 121cm, Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Flemish Expressionism
Wonderful Memories
Until the end of the summer months, the Kunstmuseum Den Haag presented an exhibition titled "Flemish Expressionism - Wonderful Memories", which present an artistic movement that was developed between The Netherlands and the Belgian countryside. And while the show is, mostly arrange thematically, it presents a wide range of artists and artistic style such as Gustave De Smet, Frits Van den Berghe, Edgard Tytgat.
A group of artists overlooking the river
2. Edgard Tytgat (1879-1957), Memory of a Sunday, 1926, oil on canvas, 89 x 116,5cm, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle © Edgar Tytgat / Pictoright 2023
Along the Leile, along the river. The beginning of this artist movement started out with a group of Belgian painters, which was making at the time pictures dominated by Luminism. Those pictures were quite popular in the art market , but they're not that innovative due to their close conjunction with the impressionist (especially Monet, Seurat and Signac).
Luminism works we're made out of everyday subjects (houses, still life, portraits, etc.), which was painted in the impressionist manner but way more soft, with soft tones and a brighter hue.
But, along the river of the Leie, Emile Claus was one of the most prominent artists of this movement, with his friends and artists Anna De Weert and Léon De Smet. But, the brother of Léon De Smet decided to turn his back from this movement and depiction of the subject to have a more modern style.
The war and the ever-changing world
During and after the First World War, the Luminist style became less and less popular. But the artists of this style will slowly shift their motif, mostly influenced by Dutch painters such as Leo Gestel and Jan Sluijters and collectors such as Piet Boendermaker. Due to those tree contacts, they entered a period of experimentation.
But with the outbreak of the First World War and the rise of modern painting, the group of artists became acquainted with the work of the German expressionism thought the art magazines that circulated in the Netherlands, such as "Das Kunstblatt" and "Der Sturm". Figures such as Die Brücke (the bridge) led by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc.
The early years
After the first few months of this movement in The Netherlands, two important figures of the group, Gustave De Smet and Frits Van den Berghe settled in Het Gooi, along the Leie river. They slowly shift their style together and exhibited together in Amsterdam. But while Gustave De Smet deeply appreciated the tranquility of the countryside, Frits Van den Berghe chose to return to occupied Belgium for a position at the Ministry of Arts and Sciences.
But this position was part of a bigger "problem". When the First World War finished, the Belgians who came to The Netherlands did not immediately return home after the war and some who did return were forced to flee back across the border because they were accused of collaborating with the occupying forces. Thus, the fact that Frits Van den Berghe chose to return to occupied Belgium for a position at the Ministry of Arts and Sciences was not the best idea, and after a few months he returned to Het Gooi, afraid that his position at the ministry would leave him open to accusations of collaboration.
Due to the war, they also meet with numerous new artists such as Jozef Cantré, a sculptor and woodcarver who settled in Blaricum, not far from the De Smets. Together with Frits Van den Berghe, they focused on making woodcuts and linocuts.
1922
In 1922, Frits Van den Berghe and Gustave De Smet returned to Belgium and they soon lived under the patronage of Paul-Gustave Van Hecke and his partner Norine Deschrijver. At the time, their main residence, the Villa Malpertuis will be the meeting place for collectors, writers and artists.
A few years later, as the art market was slowly booming in Europe, Van Hecke and the art critic André De Ridder cofounded Sélection, a gallery in Brussels that showed works of the avant-garde such as Fernand Léger and Pablo Picasso alongside works by innovative the Flemish Expressionism (which was named by De Ridder and Van Hecke) such as De Smet, Van den Berghe, Constant Permeke, Jean Brusselmans, Hubert Malfait and Edgard Tytgat.
Further exhibitions and recognitions
While most of the artist was living along the river Leie, the important city of the country were not that far. Ghent was just a few minutes away, and Brussels and Paris were really close due to the revolution of the transportation system and the trains.
But the two most important figures of the movement had way more then exhibitions in important cities and galleries, they had a contract with the Sélection gallery that gave them financial security and stability, while the rural surroundings and daily life in the village provided them with inspiration they needed.
The titled of the exhibition
The title of the exhibition "Flemish Expressionism - Wonderful Memories " comes from the Belgian illustrator, writer and playwright Gerda Dendooven. She was a big fan and collector of the works of Gustave De Smet and Edgard Tytgat, thus, she worked on a commission for Dendooven to make a picture book for the exhibition "Flemish Expressionism — Wonderful Memories".
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Date: 25.3.2023 - 20.8.2023
Curator: Unknown
Ticket: Available on the website of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Stadhouderslaan 41
2517 HV Den Haag
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0) 70 338 11 11
Mail: info@kunstmuseum.nl