Hendrik Frans Schaefels or Henri François Schaefels, also known as Rik Schaefels (

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,

, 2 December 1827 – Antwerp, 9 June 1904), was a Belgian

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

painter, draughtsman and engraver known for his seascapes,

cityscapes In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, Publishing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. ''Town ...

genre paintings Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

, landscapes with figures and

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

s. He worked in the

style popular in Belgium in the mid nineteenth century and was highly esteemed in Europe for his representations of historic naval battles.SCHAEFELS, Hendrik Frans (1827 - 1904), Painter, engraver
, in: Benezit Dictionary of ArtistsHenri François Schaefels
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History

Life

Hendrik Frans Schaefels was the son of Hendrik Raphael Schaefels, a decorative painter working in a Neo-Classical style and a teacher of decorative design at the Antwerp Academy. His older brother

Lucas Victor Schaefels Lucas Victor Schaefels or Lucas Schaefels (Antwerp, 5 April 1824 – Antwerp, 17 September 1885) was a Belgians, Belgian painter, draughtsman and engraver known for his still lifes, which for the most part were flower and hunting pieces. He wor ...

(1824-1885) became a successful still life painter and draughtsman and a teacher at the Antwerp Academy.Claire Baisier, '17th and 18th Century Drawings: The Van Herck Collection', King Baudoin Foundation, 2000, p. 292-294 Hendrik Frans Schaefels - The Algeciras at the Battle of Trafalgar

Hendrik Frans Schaefels - The Algeciras at the Battle of Trafalgar

Hendrik Frans Schaefels began as a student at the Antwerp Academy of landscape painter

Jan Baptiste de Jonghe Jan Baptiste de Jonghe or Jean-Baptiste de Jonghe (Kortrijk, 8 January 1785 – Schaerbeek, 14 October 1844) was a Belgian painter, draughtsman, etcher and lithographer. He is known for his Romantic landscapes with people, herds and ruins.

and landscape and marine painter Jacob Jacobs. After leaving the Academy he worked between his 15th and 17th year at the studio of Jan Michiel Ruyten, a painter of cityscapes, Ruyten's work would leave an important mark on Schaefels' own cityscapes.Max Rooses, 'Hendrik Schaefels' in: Max Rooses, 'Oude en Nieuwe Kunst', Boekhandel J. Vuylsteke, Ghent, 1896, p.156-166 A seascape by Schaefel was accepted at the tri-annual salon of Antwerp when the artist was only 17 years old. Schaefels spent his entire career in Antwerp. He was friends with leading Antwerp artists and intellectuals such as

Hendrik Conscience Henri (Hendrik) Conscience (3 December 1812 – 10 September 1883) was a Belgian author. He is considered the pioneer of Dutch-language literature in Flanders, writing at a time when Belgium was dominated by the French language among the upper cl ...

, Jan Lambrecht Domien Sleeckx,

Max Rooses Max Rooses (10 February 1839 – 15 July 1914) was a Belgian writer, literary critic, and curator of the Plantin-Moretus Museum at Antwerp. Rooses was born in Antwerp, and went to school there up to 1858, after which he attended the University of ...

Frans Van Kuyck Frans Pieter Lodewijk van Kuyck (9 June 1852, Antwerp - 31 May 1915, Antwerp) was a Belgian painter and graphic artist. He is also known for helping to establish Mother's Day in Belgium. Life and career He came from a family of artists. His f ...

and

Peter Benoit Peter Benoit (17 August 18348 March 1901) was a Flemish composer of Belgian nationality. Biography Petrus Leonardus Leopoldus Benoit was born in Harelbeke, Flanders, Belgium in 1834. He was taught music at an early age by his father and the vil ...

.Josef Muls, ''Frank VAN DEN WIJNGAERT: Hendrik Schaefels, Teekenaar van het schip en van de oud-Antwerpsche Haven. - N.V. Standaard-Boekhandel, Antwerpen 1944'' in: Dietsche Warande en Belfort. Jaargang 1945. Uitgeversmij N.V. Standaard-Boekhandel, Antwerpen z.j., p. 466-467 Schaefels was a member of the association 'Artibus Patriae', which was founded in 1865 with the goal of supporting new acquisitions by the museums in Antwerp. He was for a time engaged in local politics for the Catholic Party. From 1869 to 1872 he had a seat on the Antwerp city council where he represented the interests of artists and art promotion in general.

Work

General

Hendrik Frans Schaefels worked in many genres including

s, seascapes,

, landscapes with figures and

. His early work, which was influenced by Jan Michiel Ruyten, consisted mainly of cityscapes of Antwerp and genre scenes. He is now principally known for his seascapes often representing historical events such as sea battles and for his cityscapes of Antwerp.

Marine paintings

Belgium was in the grip of Romantic art at the time Schaefels started out on his artistic career. Belgian Romantic painters such as

Gustaf Wappers Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers (23 August 18036 December 1874) was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers.Note: The painter is known by one ...

Nicaise de Keyser Nicaise de Keyser (alternative first names: Nicaas, Nikaas of Nicasius; 26 August 1813, Zandvliet – 17 July 1887, Antwerp) was a Belgian painter of mainly history paintings and portraits who was one of the key figures in the Belgian Romantic- ...

Edouard Hamman Edouard Jean Conrad Hamman (24 September 1819 in Ostend – 30 March 1888 in Paris) was a Belgian painter and engraver who specialized in portraying scenes from the lives of famous artists, scholars and the nobility. Life and work He grew ...

and Louis Gallait gained international success with their history paintings. These usually depicted glorious or famous events in the history of what became the state of Belgium, which had only recently been established as an independent country in 1830. Such historic themes were the favorite subjects of artists working in the years from 1830 to 1850. Hendrik Frans Schaefels combined in his work this tradition of history painting and marine art. He excelled in his dramatic portrayals of naval battles and other historical events that took place at sea such as the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

, episodes from the wars between England and the Dutch Republic. His large compositions, with sizes varying from 2 to 9 meters long, often showed a pseudo-Baroque design. Schaefels painted both compositions depicting an entire naval battle as well as more anecdotal episodes depicting the action on the deck of a single warship such as in the '' Death of Nelson''. For his naval battles he relied on historical literature and printed materials.Norbert Hostyn, ''Schilders van de zee''
at Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen Schaefels also painted more recent and peaceful marine events such as the ''Queen Victoria on board the Royal Yacht'', which depicts the 1843 visit of Ostend by Queen Victoria with her husband Prince Albert.

Cityscapes and genre paintings

Hendrik Frans Schaefels - The Stoelstraatje and the tower of the Saint Paul's Church

Hendrik Frans Schaefels painted many views of the city of Antwerp which provide important documentary evidence on the city in the 19th century. These works showed the influence of his master Jan Michiel Ruyten. Like other Belgian Romantic painters such as

Henri Leys Henri Leys, Hendrik Leys or Jan August Hendrik, Baron Leys (18 February 1815 – 26 August 1869) was a Belgian painter and printmaker. He was a leading representative of the historical or Romantic school in Belgian art and became a pioneer of th ...

and

Nicaise De Keyser Nicaise de Keyser (alternative first names: Nicaas, Nikaas of Nicasius; 26 August 1813, Zandvliet – 17 July 1887, Antwerp) was a Belgian painter of mainly history paintings and portraits who was one of the key figures in the Belgian Romantic- ...

he drew inspiration from

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's '' Faust'' as seen in his '' Scene from Goethe's Faust'' (1863, auctioned at Dorotheum on 15 February 2011 in Vienna, lot 31). An interesting composition painted by Schaefels twice is '' The grave of Rubens and his family upon its opening in 1855''. The composition shows Rubens' opened grave lit by candles and is thus at the same time a document of the event as well as an expression of Schaefels' Romantic veneration for the great Antwerp master Rubens. Schaefles also painted in his early career a number of genre scenes such as '' Admiring the newborn'' (1857, auctioned at Christie's on 19–20 September 2006 in Amsterdam, lot 204).

Illustrations

Hendrik Frans Schaefels was in demand as a book illustrator and provided illustrations to various contemporary publications. He illustrated the 1854 collection of short stories entitled 'Dorpsverhalen' ("Village stories') by Flemish writer

Jan Renier Snieders Jan Renier Snieders (22 November 1812 in Bladel – 9 April 1888 in Turnhout), a brother of August Snieders, was a Flemish writer. He studied medicine in Leuven, and in 1838 he settled as a physician in Turnhout, where he did much to promote liter ...

and was one of the illustrators of the novel 'De gasthuisnon: een verhael uit onzen tyd' ('The hospital nun: a story of our time') by

August Snieders August Snieders (Bladel, 8 May 1825 – Brussels, 19 November 1904) was a Flemish journalist and writer. He started his career in 's-Hertogenbosch, but later moved to Antwerp. In 1845, he became editor of the newspaper ''Het Handelsblad'', of wh ...

. He was one of various Belgian graphic artists such as Adolf Dillens and Félicien Rops who provided illustrations to the second edition of ' The Legend of Thyl Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak' published in Paris in 1869.Charles de Coster, 'La légende et les aventures d'Ulenspiegel et de Lamme Goedzak
, Paris, 1869

Drawings and graphic work

Hendrik Frans Schaefels made many drawings which served as studies for his paintings. He spent much of his time outdoors drawing the ships and activities in the port of Antwerp and houses and people in the streets of Antwerp. His drawings are careful and picturesque. His drawings include studies of all types of ships, cutters, shock cherry, clubs, people on the docks, the wharf, the dockyards and the first steamships such as the 'British Queen' and 'Baron Osy'. The drawings and the notes that Schaefels added to his drawings provide historical information on maritime and river transport of the time. A selection of his drawings are in the collection of the

Plantin-Moretus Museum The Plantin-Moretus Museum ( nl, Plantin-Moretusmuseum) is a printing museum in Antwerp, Belgium which focuses on the work of the 16th-century printers Christophe Plantin and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establ ...

in Antwerp. Schaefels was an avid engraver and his prints depict the same subjects as his drawings and are executed in a loose style.

References

Hendrik Frans Schaefels - Admiral Ruyter on the river Thames

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefels, Hendrik Frans Belgian marine painters Belgian genre painters Belgian history painters Belgian landscape painters Belgian printmakers Artists from Antwerp 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists 1827 births 1904 deaths