Théodore Baron (19 August 1840, Ixelles - 4 September 1899, Saint-Servais) was a Belgian landscape painter in the Realistic style.

Biography

He was initially trained in the Academic style; first by

Hippolyte de la Charlerie Hippolyte de la Charlerie (1827–1869) was a Belgian painter and illustrator. Life and work De la Charlerie was born in Mons. He studied art at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts (1843–51) and with Théodore Baron. He was a cofounder of the ...

in Brussels, then by Louis Dubois, Guillaume Van der Hecht, and François-Joseph Navez. By 1860, he was already working at the artists' colony in Genk, making him a member of the . In 1863, together with

Louis Artan Louis Victor Antonio Artan de Saint-Martin (20 April 1837 – 23 May 1890)Profile @ the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie. was a Dutch-Belgian painter and etcher who specialized in seascapes. Biography He was born into a noble fami ...

, he explored the wooded areas around Brussels and came into contact with artists painting en plein aire. During that time, he developed a predilection for creating more realistic landscapes than those he had studied. From 1865 to 1868, he lived in Kalmthout and focused on painting the typically desolate landscapes found in the

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

region. There, he met a group of like-minded artists; Jacques Rosseels (1828-1912), ,

Adrien-Joseph Heymans Adriaan Jozef Heymans (or Adrien-Joseph Heymans; 11 June 1839 in Antwerp – December 1921 in Brussels) was a Belgian impressionist landscape painter. Biography His father was a trader in window-glass, who died when Heymans was only seven. Aft ...

and

Florent Crabeels Florent Nicolas Crabeels (5 December 1829, Antwerp – 7 June 1896, Antwerp) was a Belgian genre and landscape painter. Life and work He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, with Jacob Jacobs and Egide Linnig. At first, he p ...

, generally referred to as the . He returned to Brussels in 1868, and renewed his ties with the artists in Tervuren, thereby creating a link between the Kalmhoutse and the . He also spent some time working in

Hoeilaart Hoeilaart () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. The name Hoeilaart is of Gallic-Celtic origin, coming from "Ho-Lar," meaning a high clearing in the woods. Residents are called Hoeilanders or Doenders. The municipality ...

and Auderghem, painting the old ponds in the vicinity of the Red Cloister. That same year, he became a co-founder of the

Société Libre des Beaux-Arts The Société Libre des Beaux-Arts ("Free Society of Fine Arts") was an organization formed in 1868 by Belgian artists to react against academicism and to advance Realist painting and artistic freedom. Based in Brussels, the society was active un ...

. He was constantly moving about; painting in the Meuse river valley and along the river Lesse. He also worked with Félicien Rops and

Octave Maus Octave Maus (12 June 1856 – 26 November 1919) was a Belgian art critic, writer and lawyer. Maus worked with fellow writer/lawyer Edmond Picard, and they together with Victor Arnould and Eugène Robert founded the weekly ''L'Art moderne'' i ...

at an artists' retreat in Anseremme. In 1870, he stayed with the art critic,

Camille Lemonnier Antoine Louis Camille Lemonnier (24 March 1844 – 13 June 1913) was a Belgian writer, poet and journalist. He was a member of the Symbolist ''La Jeune Belgique'' group, but his best known works are realist. His first work was ''Salon de Bruxelle ...

, at his home near Profondeville. Later, he travelled as far as France and Italy. In 1882, he became a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, replacing Ferdinand Marinus. His best known students there include

Isidore Verheyden Isidore Verheyden (24 January 1846, in Antwerp – 1 November 1905, in Elsene) was a Belgian painter of landscapes, portraits and still life. He was the son of painter Jean-François Verheyden; his first teacher at the Académie Royale de ...

and

. In 1884, he was appointed the Academy's Director, and remained in that position until his death. Streets have been named after him in Auderghem and Namur where a monument, created by

Charles van der Stappen Charles van der Stappen (also Karl van der Stappen; 19 September 1843 – 21 October 1910), was a Belgian sculptor, born in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Life Educated at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels (1859–1868), van der Stappen' ...

, has been erected.

Sources

* Herman De Vilder, "De School van Tervuren : in de bedding van de tijd"; De Vrienden van de School van Tervuren, 2008 * Hoozee R., "Barbizon en België"; in: "De School van Barbizon"; exhibition catalog, Museum voor Schone Kunst, Ghent 1985 * Paul Piron, ''De Belgische beeldende kunstenaars uit de 19de en 20ste eeuw'', 2nd ed., 1999, * E. Benezit, ''Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs''; Librairie Gründ, Paris 1976

External links

More works by Baron
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Theodore 1840 births 1899 deaths People from Ixelles 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists