LIGHT AND SKIES! / LICHT EN LUCHTEN!
The Belgian Luminist Edmond Verstappen
The MTVP Museum Domburg and the ICEAC Domburg are dedicating their 2024 Summer Exhibition to the Belgian luminist Edmond Verstraeten (1870-1956), who painted almost non-stop throughout his life.
On the advice of the artist Franz Courtens, Verstraeten trained at the National Higher Institute for Fine Arts in Antwerp with the Belgian landscape painter Joseph Coosemans, who went out with his students to explore the forests of Tervuren and the heathland of Genk in order to work ‘plein air’.
From 1900 onwards, Edmond Verstraeten resided with his wife and growing children in Waasmunster/Sombeke. On his estate Den Dommel he lived in symbiosis with nature. During foreign travels he was influenced by old masters and contemporaries, but he remained himself. Numerous luminist- impressionist and colourful, often large landscape paintings testify to this. A nice selection, consisting of about 35 paintings, can now be seen in the MTVP museum.
Curator Francisca van Vloten had a free choice from the collection of the Kunstkring VZW Edmond Verstraeten and some associated private collections. She focuses on the works that the artist made on his estate. She also selected several works that were created during his travels or as a result of them. Verstraeten traveled to Germany, Russia, France and Italy, among others.
Although he made small works outdoors, Verstraeten did not consider himself a plein-air artist. ‘I paint from memory or make drawings during longer observations in nature’, he proclaimed. ‘They serve as a guideline in my studio. […] I paint small formats on canvas, panel or cardboard as studies in nature. Afterwards I can incorporate them into large works in the studio with the right colour shades.’
The exhibition will be accompanied by a trilingual publication of the same name.
