Frans Mortelmans
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Frans Mortelmans (1 May 1865 in Antwerp – 11 April 1936 in Antwerp) 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 languag ...
painter, draughtsman and engraver.Frans Mortelmans
at the
Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...
He initially produced portraits, history paintings, marines and genre scenes but later specialised in still lifes, and in particular flower pieces, with which he achieved considerable success.Frans MORTELMANS (Antwerpen 1865 - Antwerpen 1936)
at Berko Fine Paintings


Life

Frans Mortelmans was born in Antwerp as the first son of Karel Mortelmans and Isabella Poinjaert. His father was a printer and his mother ran a stationery shop. Frans would have five siblings: two brothers and three sisters. His oldest brother Lodewijk became a renowned composer. All the Mortelmans children attended the local music school and the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts.Dirk Schiltz, 'Huis Mortelmans, Een van de kleine private musea in Antwerpen', in: Antwerpsche tijdinghen, January–February-March 2014, p. 21-26 Frans Mortelmans studied at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts under the direction of Lucas Victor Schaefels and Charles Verlat from 1876 to 1886. He then continued his studies at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Antwerp, the recently established institute for post-graduate studies of the Academy. Here he studied under Albrecht De Vriendt as well as Frans Van Leemputten. Frans Mortelmans led a very bourgeois existence. In 1897 he married Marie Fontain. The couple remained childless. His principal income was derived from his job as a teacher at the Municipal Academy of Berchem. In the final years of his career until his retirement in 1835 he was the caretaking director of that Academy as a replacement of the director in office who had suffered a stroke. Two of his most famous students at the Academy were
Joris Minne Joris Minne (Ostend, 1897 – Antwerp, 1988) was a Belgian sculptor, graphic artist, illustrator and painter who helped revive the art of engraving in Belgium.Museum Mayer van den Bergh. Mortelmans also taught his nephew Franck Mortelmans (1898-1986) who became a marine artist.Frans Mortelmans biography
at the Lodewijk & Frans Mortelmans Foundation
Frans Mortelmans participated actively in the art societies that flourished in Flanders around the turn of the 20th century. Like his brother Lodewijk, he was a member of the Antwerp artistic society 'De Scalden'.Frans Mortelmans
at Art Falco vzw
The society initially had two objectives: the organisation of exhibitions of 'ornamental art' and the artistic design of official parades and carnival parades. Mortelmans exhibited his works at the various events organised by 'De Scalden' as well as those held by the local art societies 'Arte Et Labore' and "De Distel'. He further participated in the official salons and various exhibitions in Antwerp, Mechelen, Ghent and Liège. He achieved success during his lifetime and found patrons at home and abroad. In 1903 his work received official recognition in Belgium when one of his
watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
was acquired by the
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth ...
. In 1932 he was made Commander in the Order of Leopold. RD 8.4.1932


Work

Frans Mortelmans was a very prolific painter. To date, more than 850 of his works have been inventoried. His most productive period is situated around 1900. Frans Mortelmans commenced his career as a painter of portraits and figures, including genre scenes. From 1892 onwards, he almost exclusively painted very decorative and harmoniously composed still lifes and flower pieces. It is through these works that he established his reputation. His compositions with pink roses are in particular highly valued. His work situates itself between impressionism and realism with some luminist touches. He produced many pastel works.


References


Further reading

* Ivo Schiltz, Dirk Schiltz, 'Frans Mortelmans, 1865-1936: virtuoos bloemenschilder', Standaard, 2009 * Stichting Lodewijk Mortelmans, 'Frans Mortelmans (1865-1936): bloemen, stillevens, marines in olie en aquarel', Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Antwerpen) 2002


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortelmans, Frans Belgian portrait painters Belgian still life painters Belgian genre painters Painters from Antwerp 19th-century Belgian painters Belgian male painters 19th-century Belgian male artists Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni 1865 births 1936 deaths