Guillaume Geefs (10 September 1805 – 19 January 1883), also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological subject matter, often with an erotic theme.

Life

Guillaume Geefs was born in

Antwerp, Belgium 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,

, the eldest of six brothers in a family of sculptors, the best-known of whom are Joseph Geefs (1808–1885, winner of the Prix de Rome in 1836) and Jean Geefs (1825–1860, and winner of the prize in 1846). Guillaume first studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp under the late–Flemish Baroque sculptor

Jan Frans van Geel Jan Frans van Geel (Mechelen, 18 September 1756 – Antwerp, 20 January 1830)Jean-Etienne Ramey at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and began exhibiting his work in 1828. In 1829, Geefs traveled to Italy. When he returned to Antwerp, he began teaching at the art academy. During the 1830s, he executed the colossal work ''Victims of the Revolution'' at Brussels, as well as numerous

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s and busts. In 1836, he married Isabelle Marie Françoise Corr, a Brussels-born painter of Irish descent known professionally as Fanny Geefs."Geefs, Guillaume (1805–1883)"
Philatelia.net.
/ref> In the mid-19th century, the sculptor Guillaume-Joseph Charlier was an assistant to him and his brother Joseph. The Geefs family played a leading role in the craze for public sculpture that followed Belgian independence in the 1830s, producing several propagandistic monuments that emphasized a "historical continuity of the southern Low Countries in the new independent state".

Honours

* 1875 : Officer in the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

.Almanach royal officiel: 1875, p. 20 * 1881 : Grand Officer in the

. * Knight of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa. * Knight of the Order of Saint Michael. * Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.

As an artist

Geefs' early work has been characterized as "predominately elegiac in mood". By the end of the 1830s, however, he developed a powerful, spare realism in monumental works such as '' General Belliard'' and '' Frédéric de Mérode'' (erected in Brussels, 1836–37) and '' Peter Paul Rubens'' (

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,

, 1841). He was prolific in producing tombs, pulpits, statues, busts, and sculpture groups.

Works

Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument aux martyrs - 02

The works of Guillaume Geefs include: * Epitaphe of count

Jacques Coghen Count Jacques Andres Coghen (31 October 1791 in Brussels – 15 May 1858 in Brussels) was the second Minister of Finance (Belgium), Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Belgium (1831-1832), and a direct ancestor of the current King, Philippe of ...

, Belgian Minister of Finance (1831–1832), Cemetery of Laeken * Epitaphe of and Marie-Joseph d'Ognyes; in Brussels * ''Frédéric de Mérode'' (1833/1837), tomb monument, "noted for its naturalness and lack of idealization" * ''General

Belliard Belliard is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Augustin Daniel Belliard (1769–1832), French general * David Belliard (born 1978), French journalist and politician * Michel Belliard Michel Belliard (born 14 July 1949) is a Fre ...

'' (1836), Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in Brussels; more than life-size * ''Monument to the Martyrs of the 1830 Revolution'' (1836–38), an allegorical monument commemorating the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

, on Martyrs' Square in Brussels * '' Leopold I'', considered one of the most important works of public art in Belgium in the 19th century; a stamp issued in 1981 commemorates this statue; it may be viewed online * ''Treurende Adonis'' (1839), white marble of Adonis in mourning * A small sculpture of a young sleeping angel, privately held and not authenticated (but signed by the artist), found in 1993 in an abandoned house in Brussels *'' Grétry'' (1842), bronze statue of the composer, in front of the opera house in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

* '' Le génie du mal'', a Lucifer in white marble for the Cathedral of St. Paul in Liège * '' Charlemagne'' (1843), statue in the

Basilica of Saint Servatius The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, bac ...

in Maastricht * '' The Roman Gladiator'', located opposite the

M. H. de Young Memorial Museum ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of resp ...

in San Francisco, to mark the ground-breaking for the 1894 Mid-Winter Exposition * ''Le lion amoreux'' or ''The Amorous Lion'' (1851), marble,

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...

* ''Gardel Memorial'' (1864), a 25-foot pyramid memorial in Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia, with statues depicting Africa, Asia, Europe, Hope and Faith * A statue of

Isabelle Brunelle Isabelle Brunelle (1724–1805), countess d'Harscamp, was a refugee and philanthropist. Life Brunelle was born in Aachen on 3 September 1724, the daughter of Herman Brunelle and Jeanne-Marie Tilmans. She was educated in Liège, and in 1748 married ...

(1872) in the garden of the almshouse that she founded in Namur.

Assessment

In his lifetime, Geefs' work was considered by some to be marred by "frivolous and inessential" details and "poverty of thought", together with a perceived frigidity of expression in his modelling. He is now regarded as the dominant Belgian sculptor of his time.

References

External links

Two statues by Guillaume Geefs

Bio on Philatelia.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geefs, Guillaume 1805 births 1883 deaths Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) faculty Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium People from Borgerhout 19th-century Belgian sculptors 19th-century Belgian male artists