Eugène Smits (22 May 1826,
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, - 4 December 1912,
Brussels) was a Belgian portrait painter.
Life and work
He studied at the
Académie royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles
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 s ...
with
François-Joseph Navez.
From 1851 to 1852, he lived in Paris, where he made the professional acquaintance of
Jean-François Millet,
Eugène Isabey, and the brothers
Joseph and
Alfred Stevens. He returned to Paris
in 1855, to take part in the
Exposition Universelle.
From 1861 to 1864, he lived in Italy, where he created his largest canvas: "Ein Sonntagsnachmittag in Pincio" (A Sunday Afternoon in
Pincio, 1862).
In 1868, he was one of the co-founders of the
Société Libre des Beaux-Arts
The Société Libre des Beaux-Arts ("Free Society of Fine Arts") was an organization formed in 1868 by Belgian artists to react against academicism and to advance Realist painting and artistic freedom. Based in Brussels, the society was active un ...
. In 1902, he was elected a member of his alma mater, the Académie royale.
He also wrote a collection of memories and reflections, ''Les pensées d’Eugène Smits'', which was published posthumously in 1913, with illustrations by
Fernand Khnopff
Fernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff (12 September 1858 – 12 November 1921) was a Belgian symbolist painter.
Life Youth and training
Fernand Khnopff was born to a wealthy family that was part of the high bourgeoisie for generations. Khnopf ...
.
Sources
* "Smits, Eugène", In: Hans Vollmer (Ed.): ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol.31: Siemering–Stephens. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1937.
* Smits, Eugène in: ''Dictionnaire des peintres belges'
(Online)
* Paul Lambotte: ''Eugène Smits, artiste-peintre (1826–1912)''. Forgotten Books 2019 (reprint), .
External links
''Les pensées d’Eugène Smits''@ the
Hathi Trust (full text)
More works by Smits@ ArtNet
1826 births
1912 deaths
Belgian painters
Belgian portrait painters
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni
Artists from Antwerp
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