Alexander Theodore Honoré Struys (24 January 1852,

Berchem Berchem () is a southern Districts of Antwerp, district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (Dutch language, Dutch for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected ...

– 25 March 1941,

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...

) was a Belgian

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

and portrait painter in the Realistic style.

Biography

Struys' father (originally from Holland) was a master glass painter. At the age of six, he was already a student at the Academy of

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

.Review and Biographical notes
by Fernand Khnopff from "The Studio, Vols. 41-42", Pgs.283-288. Later, Struys was a student of

Polydore Beaufaux Polydore Beaufaux (30 November 1829 – 7 May 1905) was a Belgian painter. He favored Biblical scenes, portraits and Genre art, genre pieces.Jozef Van Lerius Joseph Henri François Van Lerius (23 December 1823, Antwerp – 29 February 1876, Mechelen) was a Belgian painter in the Romantic-Historical style. Life Van Lerius was born in Boom, Antwerp, on 23 November 1823. In 1838, he was already an ap ...

at the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp ( nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen) is an art academy located in Antwerp, Belgium. It is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, ...

.Alexander Struys; Brief biography
by Ulf Forsberg @ Schoonselhof. In 1871, he exhibited in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

and travelled with Jan Van Beers to France and England, where they attempted to sell their works, but barely made enough to get back home. His

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

painting, "Birds of Prey" (or "God is Dead", in Dutch), created a scandal in 1876. The year after, Struys was named a Professor at the

Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when i ...

, following in the steps of his fellow Belgians,

Charles Verlat Charles Verlat or Karel Verlat (25 November 182423 October 1890) was a Belgium, Belgian painter, watercolorist, engraver (printmaker), Visual arts education, art educator and director of the Antwerp Academy. He painted many subjects and was par ...

(recently the school's Director) and

Ferdinand Pauwels Wilhelm Ferdinand Pauwels ( �pʌu̯əls 13 April 1830, Ekeren – 26 March 1904, Dresden) was a Belgian history painter who lived and worked in Germany. Life From 1842 to 1850, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), under Gus ...

. One of his best-known students there was

Christian Rohlfs Christian Rohlfs (November 22, 1849 – January 8, 1938) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the important representatives of German expressionism. Early life and education He was born in Groß Niendorf, Kreis Segeberg in Prussia. ...

. He remained in that position until 1882, when he moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

and worked as a portrait painter for two years, after which he went back to Belgium. Working without a studio, Struys painted in the homes of the poor people he depicted. His work attracted much attention and praise in the more socially conscious publications of that time, and he became a close friend of

Jakob Smits Jakob Smits or Jacob Smits (Rotterdam, 9 July 1855 – Achterbos (Mol), 15 February 1928) was a Dutch-Flemish painter. Background and early life He was born a son of a decorator. Jakob studied in Rotterdam at the academy and helped his fathe ...

, who was also involved in social issues. Some less sympathetic commentators referred to him as the "painter of misery and pain". Struys settled in Mechelen and became head of the Royal Drawing Academy there. In 1902, he joined the administrative commission for the ninth exhibition by the "Société des Beaux-Arts à Bruxelles" and, three years later, became Vice-President of the "Société Royale des Beaux-Arts". That same year, he also served on the committee charged with preparing the "Exposition Rétrospective de l'Art Belge"; part of the country's 75th anniversary celebrations. He was also a member of the

Académie Royale de Belgique The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association which promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...

and the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

References

External links

* Emile Wesly,
Alexander Struys
', from Elsevier's geïllustreerd maandschrift, 1894 *

Max Rooses Max Rooses (10 February 1839 – 15 July 1914) was a Belgian writer, literary critic, and curator of the Plantin-Moretus Museum at Antwerp. Rooses was born in Antwerp, and went to school there up to 1858, after which he attended the University of ...

« Alexander Struys »
in: ''Oude en nieuwe kunst'', Ghent, Boekhandel J. Vuylsteke, 1896, p. 205-220. * "Struys, Alexander". In: Friedrich von Boetticher: ''Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts. Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte'', Vol. 2/2, Saal–Zwengauer. Boetticher’s Verlag, Dresden 1901, pp. 856–857
Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Struys, Alexander 1852 births 1941 deaths Genre painters Social realist artists People from Berchem 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists 20th-century Belgian painters 20th-century Belgian male artists