Hendrik Peeters (19 April 1815 – 29 June 1869) was a Belgian sculptor. He was the co-founder of the workshop ''Hendrik Peeters-Divoort''.

Biography

Hendrik Peeters was born in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

on 19 April 1815. He was the son of Louis Peeters and his second wife Anna Catharina Peeters. His father supported the family as a weaver and died in 1818, when Hendrik was only 3 years old. Many prominent figures in the field of architecture, sculpture and painting studied at the Academy in Antwerp at the time, and this was also the case for Hendrik. He was registered there from 1832, that is, at the age of 17, and stayed there until 1838. During his stay in Antwerp he is said to have lived in two different places in the ''Blindestraat'', and finally in the ''Leguit'' (''Schipperskwartier''). He is said to have been apprenticed to sculptor Jacob Van der Neer in Antwerp or at least visited his studio several times. It is possible that Van der Neer's wife had a family connection with Hendrik's parents. On 26 January 1819 he married Antwerp Maria Joanna Divoort, and from this marriage the first of eight children was born in 1839. Later that year Peeters returned to Turnhout, where he founded a workshop for sculptors in the ''Korte Begijnenstraat''. His brother-in-law Pierre Joseph Divoort also joined his workshop, though his role is not clear. From the beginning, the sculpting workshop was given the name Hendrik Peeters-Divoort, a reference to his brother-in-law. The workshop flourished very quickly, acquiring many customers (both in

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and the

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). Its success also served as an inspiration for others, leading to the local establishment of several workshops: Pieter Pauwel De Meyer's, 's (both students of Peeters), Josephus Marijnen's, and others. After more than 26 years of activity in Turnhout, the family moved again to the ''Leguit'' in Antwerp on 26 March 1866. Peeters continued his workshop there, but not for long as he died three years later, aged 54. However, the workshop didn't end then, as it was thereafter ran by his son Pietje Peeters with the help of the latter's uncle Pierre Joseph Divoort.

Gallery

File:St-Pieterskerk (Turnhout) - Kruisweg door Hendrik Peeters - Divoort (9-de statie).jpg, Detail of the

Way of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

in the of

File:St-Pieterskerk (Turnhout) - Detail van de preekstoel van Hendrik Peeters-Divoort.jpg, Detail of the pulpit in the of

File:Turnhout St Pieterskerk pulpit 05.JPG, Detail of the pulpit in the of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peeters, Hendrik 1815 births 1869 deaths 19th-century Belgian sculptors 19th-century Belgian male artists People from Turnhout