Yvonne Serruys (26 March 1873 – 1 May 1953) was a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

artist. In 1920, she received the Légion d’honneur.

Biography

Born in

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Be ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

into a wealthy

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

family, Serruys studied painting and drawing with

Emile Claus Emile Claus (27 September 1849 – 14 June 1924) was a Belgian painter. Life Emile Claus was born on 27 September 1849, in Sint-Eloois-Vijve, a village in West Flanders (Belgium), at the banks of the river Lys. Emile was the twelfth child in ...

. From 1892 to 1894 she studied 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 ...

in the workshop of painter

Georges Lemmen Georges Lemmen (1865–1916) was a neo-impressionist painter from Belgium. He was a member of Les XX from 1888. His works include ''The Beach at Heist'', ''Aline Marechal'' and ''Vase of Flowers''. Yvonne Serruys studied in his workshop in Brus ...

, a member of

Les XX ''Les XX'' ( French; "''Les Vingt''"; ; ) was a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years, they held an annual exhibition of their ar ...

. She then returned to study again with Claus. After undertaking a tour of Italy and Greece, Serruys exhibited her paintings in Paris at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

in 1898. It was at this point that she decided to become a sculptor, a decision which led her back to Brussels where she began new studies with sculptor

Égide Rombaux Égide Rombaux (19 January 1865 – 11 September 1942) was a Belgian symbolist sculptor. Rombeaux was born in Schaerbeek on 19 January 1865. the son of the sculptor Felix Rombaux and Emerence–Rosalie Lemmens. He studies at the Academie des Bea ...

. In 1904 she returned to Paris where she established her own workshop. Her work included 250 sculptures and over 300 pieces in glass. She received a number of public commissions, including a monument to her teacher Emile Claus in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, one for

Paul Cambon Pierre Paul Cambon (20 January 1843 – 29 May 1924) was a French diplomat and brother to Jules Cambon. Biography Cambon was born and died in Paris. He was called to the Parisian bar, and became private secretary to Jules Ferry in the ''préfe ...

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, and a war memorial in her home town. The majority of her work was romantic in style, largely portraiture and nudes, but including some religious pieces. An active member of

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

culture, she met her future husband Pierre Mille, writer, journalist, and diplomat, at one such gathering. They married in Menen in 1909 and for many years organised their own salons. Yvonne Serruys received public recognition for her work, receiving the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1920 and being created an officer of the

Order of Léopold The Order of Leopold ( nl, Leopoldsorde, french: Ordre de Léopold, ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Le ...

in 1934. Serruys died in Paris in 1953. Her will left many of her works to the town of Menen where they are now held by the local museum, the Stadsmuseum :nl:'t Schippershof.

References

* Sterckx, Marjan, "SERRUYS, Yvonne" in E. Gubin, C. Jacques, V. Piette & J. Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIXe et XXe siècles.'' Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006.

Biography

References

Further reading