Gaston Relens (Mechelen, 9 March 1909 – Schaarbeek, 4 June 2011) 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 Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

working in Schaarbeek. He was taught by

Gustave van de Woestijne Gustave Van de Woestijne (; 2 August 1881 – 21 April 1947) was a Belgian expressionist painter. He belonged to the so-called "First Group of Latem", a group of artists who worked in the rural village of Sint-Martens-Latem on the banks ...

at the Academy of Fine Arts in Mechelen (1930–1935) and later on by

Anto Carte Antoine "Anto" Carte (8 December 1886 - 15 February 1954) was a Belgian painter. Antoine Carto was born in Mons in 1886. His father was a joiner. Anto Carte was first apprenticed to François Depooter, an interior painter, and then studied art ...

at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels.

Biography

''Gaston Relens'' was raised in Hofstade by his beloved stepparents, “father Fons” Van Erp and “mother Lies” Trouwkens. Originally he was trained to become a

brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers h ...

. But he enrolled for the evening classes drawing and painting at the Academy of Mechelen. Later on he continued at the Academy of Brussels. In 1937 he obtained the first prize for painting

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

and the golden medal of the

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for his painting “The Battle at Woeringen”. During the war he was obliged to find a job to make a living and stopped painting until 1957. His interest in painting however did not fall, and he continued visiting numerous exhibitions. At that time he worked in the local administration of Hofstade . Sometime later he was engaged as technical

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

by Eternit in Kapelle-op-den-Bos. In 1947 he married Andrée Dongrie and they settled in Schaarbeek. He also did some work at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. From 1979 onwards he often retreated to the calm of his farmhouse in Ogy to do his painting. He was very sensitive to the joys and sorrows of his fellow human beings, which helps to explain his choice of topics: the farm labour, the loneliness of the blind man in the big city, the dangers and threats of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, the ups and downs of social life, the lost

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

, the unchanging rhythm of the seasons. At first he was influenced by expressionism, but very soon there was an evolution towards magic realism and symbolism, which delight us by the magnificent display of colour and the subtle harmony. The rich and delicate range of colouring transcends reality and turns into poetry. Numerous exhibitions have been held, especially in

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 ...

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 ...

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,

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, Lier,

Genève , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Villeneuve d’Ascq and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. Two important retrospectives have taken place, in Mechelen, at the Cultureel Centrum Antoon Spinoy, from 6 October till 4 November 1990, and at the town hall of Schaarbeek, from 6 till 30 April 1991. Gaston Relens lived in Rue de la Ruche / Bijenkorfstraat 43 in Schaarbeek.

Bibliography

* André Dussart, ''Relens'', Schoonaarde, 1976 * Nicole Verschoore, avant-propos de Paul Caso, ''Relens'', Bruxelles : L. de Meyer, 1980 * Jacques Collard, ''Gaston Relens, Sur l'aile de la fantaisie'', in: ''50 artistes de Belgique II'', Bruxelles, 1986 * Alfons De Bleser, introduction by Remy De Cnodder, ''Gaston Relens'', Sint-Niklaas, 1990 * Raymond Lacroix, René Turkry et André Dussart, ''Gaston Relens'', Gemeente Schaarbeek, retrospective from 6th till 30 April 1991 * Raymond Lacroix, Wim Toebosch, ''Gaston Relens'', Bruxelles : Mercenart, Art poche, 1996 * Joost De Geest, ''Relens'', Bruxelles : Ars Libris, L. De Meyer-Nicolas Poncelet, 1997

External links

Dictionnaire des peintres belges
{{DEFAULTSORT:Relens, Gaston Belgian painters 1909 births Artists from Mechelen 2011 deaths