Joseph Denis Odevaere, or Joseph-Désiré Odevaere (2 December 1775, in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

– 26 February 1830, 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 ...

), was a Neo-Classical painter from the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

(now Belgium). He served as

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

to King

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

Biography

His first art lessons came at the , where he studied with . He then moved to Paris, continuing his studies with

Joseph-Benoît Suvée Joseph-Benoît Suvée (3 January 1743 – 9 February 1807) was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism. Biography Suvée was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and bec ...

and Jacques-Louis David. In 1804, he was awarded the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for his painting ''The Death of

Phocion Phocion (; grc-gre, Φωκίων ''Phokion''; c. 402 – c. 318 BC; nicknamed The Good (''ὁ χρηστός'')) was an Athenian statesman and strategos, and the subject of one of Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives''. Phocion was a successful politici ...

''. This earned him his first commissions, which he spent a year fulfilling prior to his departure. He then spent eight years at several locations in Italy, copying the old masters and taking particular inspiration from

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

. While there, he was one of a large group of artists chosen to provide decorations for

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's visit at the

Palazzo del Quirinale The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...

although, as it turned out, he never produced more than sketches. After that, he spent some time in Paris and received a Gold Medal from Napoleon. While there, he also worked with

Godefroy Engelmann Godefroy Engelmann (August 17, 1788 – April 25, 1839) was a Franco-German lithographer and chromolithographer. Biography Godefroy Engelmann was born in 1788 in Mulhouse, Mühlhausen, a small town near the France/Switzerland/Germany border. At ...

, one of the first lithographers in France. An exhibition in Ghent two years later led to his appointment as court painter to King William I of the Netherlands in 1815. In this position, he began a campaign for the return of several major art works that had been looted from Bruges by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

; including pieces by Michelangelo, Jan van Eyck,

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

, and

Gerard David Gerard David (c. 1460 – 13 August 1523) was an Early Netherlandish painter and manuscript illuminator known for his brilliant use of color. Only a bare outline of his life survives, although some facts are known. He may have been the Meester ...

. In thanks for his successful efforts, the City Council of Bruges voted to award him a gold medal in 1816. He was elected a fourth class corresponding member living abroad of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands in 1816. From 1825 to 1829, he painted several works in support of the Greek War of Independence and styled himself "Joseph Dionysius Odevaere". He also wrote some treatises on art and was a regular, highly opinionated contributor to local periodicals. Lord Byron on his Death-bed c

In 1818, he married Sylvie de la Rue (1796–1845). After his death, in 1835, she married , Secretary of the

Provisional Government of Belgium The Provisional Government ( nl, Voorlopig Bewind; french: Gouvernement provisoire) was formed as a revolutionary committee of notables during the Belgian Revolution on 24 September 1830 at the Brussels City Hall under the name of Administrativ ...

. He was a founding member of the first '' Société des douze''.

References

External links

Entry on Odevaere
from the ''Biographisch Woordenboek der Nederlanden.
Obituary
@ Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW).
ArtNet: More works by Odevaere
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odevaere, Joseph Denis 1775 births 1830 deaths 19th-century Flemish painters Belgian neoclassical painters Artists from Bruges Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Prix de Rome for painting Artists from the Austrian Netherlands

Biography

References

Further reading

External links