Fanny Geefs (1807–1883) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

painter of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

descent. Born Isabelle Marie Françoise Corr in either

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, she studied art as a child. In the 1830s, she studied with

François-Joseph Navez François-Joseph Navez (16 November 1787 – 12 October 1869) was a Belgian neo-classical painter. Biography Navez was born in Charleroi. He was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David. He spent five years in Italy between 1817 and 1822. Between 1835 ...

. As well as portraiture, she painted religious and historical scenes such as ''Our Lady Appearing to the Oppressed'', which hangs in the Church of the Holy Family in

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

. She married successful sculptor

Guillaume Geefs Guillaume Geefs (10 September 1805 – 19 January 1883), also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological su ...

in 1836. She worked on commissions for the Belgian royal family, including several portraits of Queen

Louise-Marie Louise-Marie or Louise Marie may refer to: * Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon (1753-1821), daughter and heiress of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre * Louise Marie Adélaïde Eugènie d'Orléans (1777-1847), daughter of Louis Philip ...

. Her

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

, ''La Vie d'Une Femme: La Piété, l'Amour et la Douleur'' (''The Life of a Woman: Pity – Love – Sorrow''), was an influence on

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

in her

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. ...

'' Villette'', set in Brussels. On her death in 1883, the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...

purchased a large collection of her works.

References

* Alexia Creusen, ''CORR, Fanny (1807–1883, épouse GEEFS'', in Eliane Gubin, Catherine Jacques, Valérie Piette & Jean Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIX^e et XX^e siècles.'' Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006. 1807 births 1883 deaths Belgian people of Irish descent Belgian women painters 19th-century Belgian women artists 19th-century Belgian painters {{Belgium-painter-stub