Franz Meerts or Frans Meerts (
Ghent, 1836 –
Brussels, May 1896) was a
Belgian painter and aquarellist known for his interior scenes, genre scenes, still lifes and landscapes.
[Franz Meerts]
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History He was also active as an author, publisher and copyist.
[Boudewijn Goossens, ''Franz Meerts'']
in: ''Dictionnaire des peintres belges''
Life
Franz Meerts was born in Ghent. He studied in his home town at the
Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent. Meerts later moved to Brussels, where he attended the private art studio of
Jean-François Portaels
Jean-François Portaels or Jan Portaels (3 April 1818 – 8 February 1895) was a Belgian painter of genre scenes, biblical stories, landscapes, portraits and orientalist subjects. He was also a teacher and director of the Academy of Fine Arts ...
, a prominent painter of genre scenes, biblical stories, landscapes, portraits and Orientalist subjects and the founder of the Belgian
Orientalist school. Portaels trained in his private art studio the next generation of Belgian painters.
[Edmond-Louis de Taeye, ''Les artistes belges contemporains. Leur vie, leurs œuvres, leur place dans l'art'', Castaigne, Brussels, 1894, pp. 9-25 ]
Meerts was commissioned by the Belgian government to travel to Spain and Italy to copy the works of the great masters. On the occasion of these trips, he studied the technique of the fresco.
[ He also received a commission from the city council of ]Louvain
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...
to copy works of Dirck Bouts
Dieric Bouts (born c. 1415 – 6 May 1475) was an Early Netherlandish painter. Bouts may have studied under Rogier van der Weyden, and his work was influenced by van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck. He worked in Leuven from 1457 (or possibly earlier) ...
for the Leuven Town Hall. He completed the works in 1899-1890. He spent the last years of his life restoring the murals of St. Peter's Church in Anderlecht (Brussels).[
Meerts was the co-founder of two artist associations in Brussels. The first one was L'Union des Arts that existed from 1876 to 1885 and organised group exhibitions of works of visual artists. Three of such exhibitions were held, all in the personal studio of Meerts. They were not particularly successful. Members of this association included Louis Baretta, Marie De Bièvre, Charles Defreyn, Jules Dujardin, Joseph Flameng, Ernest Hoerickx, Louis Ludwig, Léon Massaux, , René Ovyn, Emile Rimbout, Pieter Stobbaerts, Flori Van Acker and H. Van der Taelen. Franz Meerts subsequently co-founded a new association for young artists, which was given the Dutch name ''Voorwaarts'' ('Forward') in 1885. Co-founder was Louis Baretta. Its motto was: ''Hooger is ons doel'' ('Higher is our goal'). What is remarkable is both the Dutch-language name of the association and the Dutch-language motto. Its members included Ernest Hoerickx, Léon Massaux, Emile Rimbout, ]Jan Stobbaerts
Jan Stobbaerts or Jan-Baptist Stobbaerts (18 March 1838 – 25 November 1914) was a Belgian painter and printmaker.[Jan Stobb ...]
, Pieter Stobbaerts, Eugène Surinx, Flori van Acker
Flori Van Acker or Florimond Marie Van Acker (6 April 1858 – 14 March 1940) was a neo-romantic, impressionist Belgian painter, engraver, stamp designer and director of the Academy of Bruges.
Life
Flori van Acker was born in Bruges in 1858. ...
and Camille Wauters. Later others joined including Theodoor Verstraete
Theodoor Verstraete, also spelled Theodor Verstraete and Théodore Verstraete (5 January 1850 – 8 January 1907) was a Belgian Realism (arts), Realist painter and printmaker who is known for his landscapes depicting life in the countryside as wel ...
, Emile Claus, Adrien-Joseph Heymans, Gustave Vanaise, , Victor Gilsoul, Eugène Laermans
Eugène Jules Joseph Baron Laermans (22 October 1864 – 22 February 1940) was a Belgian painter.
Life
He was born in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. At the age of eleven, he contracted meningitis, which left him deaf and nearly mute (although some source ...
, August De Bats, Henri Ottevaere and Emile Van Doren. The first salon of Voorwaarts was held in 1885 in the IJzerenkruistraat in the bustling heart of Brussels. In 1888, Voorwaarts exhibited in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...
in Brussels. The association ceased to exist in 1893.[Ernest Verlat, ''Exposition du Voorwaarts 1892'' in: La Jeune Belgique, 1892, XI, 2, p. 124 ][Jules Du Jardin, ''L'Art Flamand'', Bruxelles, A. Boitte, 1896, p. 81-85 ]
For more than twenty years, Meerts was the director of the Art Academy of Soignies. He was a co-author of "La Belgique illustrée", an illustrated history and overview of Belgium.[ was his pupil.][Francine Claire Legrand, ''Symbolism in Belgium'', Laconti, 1972, p. 265]
Franz Meerts died in May 1896 in Brussels.[
]
Work
Franz Meerts is known for his interior scenes, genre scenes, still lifes and landscapes.[
His genre scenes often depicted Catholic clergy and notaries in their offices. These works are characterised by their humorous or sentimental touch and their pleasant colors.][
]
Gallery
File:Franz Meerts - The old attorney.jpg, ''The old attorney''
File:Franz Meerts - Meeting at the notary's.jpg, ''Meeting at the notary's''
File:Franz Meerts - The empty tankard.Jpeg, ''The empty tankard''
File:Franz Meerts - A good lunch.Jpeg, ''A good lunch''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meerts, Franz
1836 births
1896 deaths
19th-century Belgian painters
Belgian male painters
19th-century Belgian male artists
Belgian landscape painters
Belgian genre painters
Artists from Brussels
Artists from Ghent