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Guillaume Charlier (1854–1925) 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 ...
sculptor, most of whose works are now kept in the
Charlier Museum
The Charlier Museum (french: Musée Charlier, nl, Charliermuseum) is a museum in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, exhibiting Belgian art of the end of the 19th century. The museum is often used for concerts of classi ...
in
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode () or Sint-Joost-ten-Node (), often simply called Saint-Josse or Sint-Joost, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the C ...
.
Life
Charlier was born in
Ixelles
(French, ) or ( Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...
, the eldest son of a large family. He was 15 years old in 1870 when his father died and he was obliged to become the family's breadwinner. In 1880,
Henri Van Cutsem, an art collector and patron of artists, bought his first works. Charlier spent some months in Italy where he came into contact with ancient art. He was also interested in the ordinary man in the street. He was also a portraitist.
He was a member of the
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions.
1862
Es ...
and became a member of the
Groupe des XX in 1885, when the sculptor
Jef Lambeaux
Jef Lambeaux or Josef Lambeaux (14 January 18525 June 1908) was a Belgian sculptor. His best known work is '' Temple of Human Passions'', a colossal marble bas-relief.
Early life and education
Lambeaux was born in Antwerp, Belgium, on 14 January ...
resigned from it.
In 1904 Henri Van Cutsem, his patron, died and bequeathed him the house in the Avenue des Arts in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode where he had been living and working. When Charlier himself died in 1925 his will left the house to the Commune of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode on condition that it should be opened to the public as a museum, as it was in 1928.
Charlier is buried in the
Cemetery of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
His works are now in Brussels in the Charlier Museum, in
Tournai in the collections of Henry Van Cutsem now held by the
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tournai and in
Blankenberge.
External links
Charlier Museum official website: Guillaume Charlier
Further reading
* Fontier, J., 1994:''Blankenberge, het kunstpatrimonium'', pp. 50–53. Blankenberge
* De Keyser, E., 1990: ''De 19de eeuwse Belgische beeldhouwkunst'', pp. 321–325. Brussels
* Ketels, Elia, 1979: "Guillaume Charlier" in the ''Biographie Nationale'', part 41, col. 110–114. Brussels
* Pierron, Sander, 1932: ''La sculpture en Belgique, 1830–1930'', pp. 63, 64 and 69. Paris-Brussels
* Gauchez, M., 1922: ''Les vivants et les morts'', p. 249-252. Brussels
* Pierron, Sander, 1913: ''Guillaume Charlier''. Brussels
* Verdainne, G., 1897: ''Guillaume Charlier''. Bergen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlier, Guillaume
1854 births
1925 deaths
People from Ixelles
Belgian sculptors