Théo Van Rysselberghe
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Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (23 November 1862 – 13 December 1926) was a Belgian
neo-impressionist Neo-Impressionism is a term coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat's most renowned masterpiece, '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'', marked the beginn ...
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century.


Biography


Early years

Born 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 ...
to a French-speaking bourgeois family, he studied first at the Academy of Ghent under Theo Canneel and from 1879 at the
Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels (french: Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts - École supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Bruxelles (ARBA-ESA), nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel), is an art school established in Br ...
in Brussels under the directorship of
Jean-François Portaels Jean-François Portaels or Jan Portaels (3 April 1818 – 8 February 1895) was a Belgian painter of genre scenes, biblical stories, landscapes, portraits and orientalist subjects. He was also a teacher and director of the Academy of Fine Arts ...
. The North African paintings of Portaels had started an orientalist fashion in Belgium. Their impact would strongly influence the young Théo van Rysselberghe. Between 1882 and 1888 he made three trips to Morocco, staying there in total a year and a half. Age only eighteen, he had already participated at the Salon of Ghent, showing two portraits. Soon afterwards followed his ''Self-portrait with pipe'' (1880), painted in somber colours in the Belgian realistic tradition of the times. His ''Child in an open spot of the forest'' (1880) departs from this style and he makes his first steps towards impressionism. Soon he would develop his own realistic style, akin to impressionism. In 1881 he exhibited for the first time at the Salon in Brussels.


First trip to Morocco

The next year he travelled (following in the footsteps of Jean-François Portaels) extensively in Spain and Morocco together with his friend
Frantz Charlet __NOTOC__ Frantz Charlet (1862–1928) was a Belgian painter, etcher, and lithographer. Early life and career An Impressionist, he was one of the founding members of the group Les XX. He studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Bruss ...
and the
Asturia Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
n painter
Darío de Regoyos Darío de Regoyos y Valdés (November 1, 1857 – October 29, 1913) was a Spanish painter. He was notable for contributing to "the renewal of modern Spanish painting". A student of Carlos de Haes at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Ferna ...
. He especially admired the 'old masters' in the
Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...
. In
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
they met
Constantin Meunier Constantin Meunier (12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a Belgian painter and sculptor. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and miner to an icon of mode ...
, who was copying
Pedro Campaña Pedro Campaña (1503–1586) was a Flemish painter of the Renaissance period, mainly active in Italy and Spain. His actual name was Pieter de Kempeneer, translated into French as Champaigne, and was also known as Peter van de Velde. Biograp ...
's ''Descent from the Cross''. From this Spanish trip stem the following portraits : ''Spanish woman'' (1881) and ''Sevillan woman'' (1882), already completely different in style. When he set foot in
Tanger Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
at the end of October 1882, a whole new world opened up for him: so close to Europe and yet completely different. He would stay there for four months, drawing and painting the picturesque scenes on the street, the
kasbah A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
and in the
souk A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the W ...
: ''Arabian street cobbler'' (1882), ''Arabian boy'' (1882), ''Resting guard'' (1883) Back in Belgium, he showed about 30 works of his trip at the "Cercle Artistique et Littéraire" in Ghent. It was an instant success, especially ''The kief smokers'', ''The orange seller'' and a seascape ''The strait (setting sun), Tanger'' (1882). In April 1883 he exhibited these scenes of everyday Mediterranean life at the salon
L'Essor ''L'Essor'' (fr. ''Progress'') is the state-owned national daily newspaper published in Bamako, Mali. Its motto is "''La Voix du Peuple''" ("The Voice of the People"). History ''L'Essor'' was first published in 1949, and from 1953 was the officia ...
, in Brussels, before an enthusiast public. It was also around this time that he befriended the writer and poet
Emile Verhaeren Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...
, whom he would later portray several times. In September 1883 van Rysselberghe went to
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
to study the light in the works of
Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...
. The accurate rendering of light would continue to occupy his mind. There he also met the American painter
William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
.


Les XX

Théo van Rysselberghe was one of the prominent co-founders of the Belgian artistic circle ''
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 ...
'' on 28 October 1883. This was a circle of young radical artists, under the patronage, as secretary, of the Brussels jurist and art lover
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'' ...
(1856–1919). They rebelled against the outmoded
academism Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...
of the time and the prevailing artistic standards. Among the most notable members were
James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic g ...
,
Willy Finch Alfred William (Willy) Finch (1854 –1930) was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style. Born in Brussels to British parents, he spent most of his creative life in Finland. Life and work Alfred William Finch ...
,
Fernand Khnopff Fernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff (12 September 1858 – 12 November 1921) was a Belgian symbolist painter. Life Youth and training Fernand Khnopff was born to a wealthy family that was part of the high bourgeoisie for generations. Khnopf ...
,
Félicien Rops Félicien Victor Joseph Rops (7 July 1833 – 23 August 1898) was a Belgian artist associated with Symbolism and the Parisian Fin-de Siecle. He was a painter, illustrator, caricaturist and a prolific and innovative print maker, particularly in ...
, and later
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
and
Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style. Biography Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. H ...
. This membership brought van Rysselberghe in contact with other radical artists, such as
James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
, who had exhibited in ''Les XX'' in 1884. His influence as a portrait painter can be seen in van Rysselberghe's portrait of ''Octave Maus as a dandy'' (1885). Van Rysselberghe would paint several portraits of Octave Maus and his wife between 1883 and 1890.


Second trip to Morocco

In November 1883 he left again, together with Frantz Charlet, for Tanger. During his stay of one year, he was in constant correspondence with Octave Maus, urging him to accept several new names for the first exhibition of "Les XX": Constantin Meunier,
Alfred Verwee Alfred Jacques Verwee (23 April 1838, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode – 15 September 1895, Schaerbeek) was a Belgian painter known for his depictions of animals, landscapes and seascapes. Life His father was the painter Louis-Pierre Verwee and his br ...
,
William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
. (He had met him in 1883 in
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
.) In April 1884 he visited
Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
in the company of the American painter
John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
and the gentleman-painter
Ralph Curtis Second Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis (19 March 1898 – 21 September 1917) was a World War I British flying ace credited with fifteen aerial victories. He died from wounds sustained when he engaged in aerial combat with Hermann Göring, co ...
. He also invited them to the exhibition in Brussels. This time, van Rysselberghe tried to surpass himself. His large, exotic painting ''Arabian phantasia'', a theme introduced by
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
, is his best known work from this period. It is bathed in the harsh light of the hot Moroccan sun. From now on van Rysselberghe would be obsessed by light. But lack of funds forced him to return to Belgium at the end of October 1884. At the second show of ''Les XX'' in 1885 Théo van Rysselberghe showed his ''Arabian phantasia'' and other images and paintings from his second Moroccan trip, such as ''Abraham Sicsu (interpreter in Tanger)'' (1884).


Impressionism

Yet his next portraits are in rather subdued colours, using different black or purple gradations contrasting with light colours: ''Jeanne and Marguerite Schlobach'' (1884), ''
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'' ...
'' (1885), ''Camille Van Mons'' (1886), ''Marguerite Van Mons'' (1886) (to be compared with ''Portrait of Gabrielle Braun'' (1886) by
Fernand Khnopff Fernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff (12 September 1858 – 12 November 1921) was a Belgian symbolist painter. Life Youth and training Fernand Khnopff was born to a wealthy family that was part of the high bourgeoisie for generations. Khnopf ...
). He saw the works of the impressionists
Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
and
Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that " ...
at the show of ''Les XX'' in 1886. He was deeply impressed. He experimented with this technique, as can be seen in ''Woman with Japanese album'' (1886). This impressionist influence became prominent in his paintings ''Madame Picard in her Loge'' (1886) and ''Madame Oscar Ghysbrecht'' (1886) (painted in a palette of bright colours). In 1887 he painted some impressionist seascapes at the Belgian coast : ''Het Zwin at high tide'' (1887) Rysselberghe influenced the work of his friend Omer Coppens away from
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
towards
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
and painted at least one portrait of him in oils. Because of his growing ties with the Parisian art scene, Octave Maus sent Rysselberghe as a talent scout to Paris to look out for new talent for the next exhibitions of ''Les XX''.


Neo-impressionism

He discovered the
pointillist Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...
technique when he saw
Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...
's ''
La Grande Jatte LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'' at the eighth impressionist exhibition in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1886. Together with
Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium.'' ...
,
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 ...
, Xavier Mellery, Willy Schlobach and
Alfred William Finch Alfred William (Willy) Finch (1854 –1930) was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style. Born in Brussels to British parents, he spent most of his creative life in Finland. Life and work Alfred William Finch ...
and
Anna Boch Anna Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936) was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Vaast, Hainaut. Anna Boch died in Ixelles in 1936 and is interred there in the Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium. Artistic style Boch partici ...
he "imported" this style to Belgium. Seurat was invited to the next salon of ''Les XX'' in Brussels in 1887. But there his ''La Grande Jatte'' was heavily criticized by the art critics as "incomprehensible gibberish applied to the noble art of painting". Théo van Rysselberghe abandoned
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
and became an adept of pointillism. This brought him sometimes in heavy conflict with
James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic g ...
. In 1887 van Rysselberghe already experimented with this style, as can be seen in his ''Madame Oscar Ghysbrecht'' (1887) and ''Madame Edmond Picard'' (1887). While staying in summer 1887 a few weeks with Eugène Boch (brother of
Anna Boch Anna Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936) was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Vaast, Hainaut. Anna Boch died in Ixelles in 1936 and is interred there in the Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium. Artistic style Boch partici ...
) in Batignolles, near Paris, he met several painters from the Parisian scene such as Sisley, Signac, Degas and especially
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the ...
. He appreciated especially the talent of Toulouse-Lautrec. His portrait ''Pierre-Marie Olin'' (1887) closely resembles the style of Toulouse-Lautrec of that time. He managed to invite several of them, including Signac, Forain, and Toulouse-Lautrec to the next exhibition of ''Les XX''.


Third trip to Morocco

In December 1887 he was invited, together with Edmond Picard, to accompany a Belgian economic delegation to
Meknès Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th ...
, Morocco. During these three months he made many color pencil sketches. He also drew a portrait of the sultan
Hassan I ''Mawlay'' Hassan bin Mohammed ( ar, الحسن بن محمد, translit=al-Ḥassan bin Muḥammad), known as Hassan I ( ar, الحسن الأول, translit=al-Ḥassan al-Awwal), born in 1836 in Fes and died on 9 June 1894 in Tadla, was a sulta ...
. Back in Brussels, he started painting his impressions, relying on his photos, notes and sketches. His ''Nomad encampment'' (1887) is probably his first
neo-impressionist Neo-Impressionism is a term coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat's most renowned masterpiece, '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'', marked the beginn ...
work. In the ''Caravan in the mountains past Schliat'', the influence of Seurat is unmistakable. His ''Gate of Mansour-El-Hay in Meknès'' (1887) and ''Morocco (the great souk)'' (1887) are also painted in pointillist style, but still with short strokes and not with points. These are among the rare pointillist paintings of Morocco. When he had finished these paintings, he stopped completely with this Moroccan period in his life. He now turned to portraiture, resulting in a series of remarkable neo-impressionist portraits.


Pointillism

His famous portrait of Alice Sèthe (1888) in blue and gold would become a turning point in his life. This time he used merely points in the portrait. She would later marry the sculptor
Paul Dubois Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
. Her sister, Maria Sèthe, also a model of van Rysselberghe, would marry the renowned
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
architect
Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium.'' ...
. In that period he made many Neo-impressionistic portraits, such as the portrait of his wife Maria and their daughter Elisabeth. He had married Marie Monnom in 1889. They went on their honeymoon to the south of England and then to Brittany. This would also result in a number of Neo-impressionistic paintings. In Paris he had a meeting with Theo Van Gogh and managed thus to invite
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
to the next exhibition in Brussels. That is where Van Gogh sold ''Vigne Rouge in Montmajour'' to
Anna Boch Anna Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936) was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Vaast, Hainaut. Anna Boch died in Ixelles in 1936 and is interred there in the Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium. Artistic style Boch partici ...
, the only painting he ever sold. Apart from the portraits, he also painted in this period many landscapes and seascapes : "Dunes in Cadzand" (1893), "The rainbow" (1894). In the 1895 he made long journeys to Athens and Constantinople, Hungary, Romania, Moscow and Saint Petersburg in order to make posters for the "Compagnie des Wagons-lits". One famous work is the poster "Royal Palace Hotel, Ostende" (1899). In 1897, van Rysselberghe moved to Paris. Along with
Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style. Biography Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. H ...
,
Maximilien Luce Maximilien Luce (13 March 1858 – 6 February 1941) was a prolific French Neo-impressionist artist, known for his paintings, illustrations, engravings, and graphic art, and also for his anarchist activism. Starting as an engraver, he then c ...
, ,
Alexandre Steinlen Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom o ...
,
Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...
, Van Dongen,
George Willaume George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, etc., he contributed to the anarchist magazine '. In the final years of the 1890s, Théo van Rysselberghe had reached the climax of his Neo-impressionist technique. Slowly he abandoned the use of dots in his portraits and landscapes and began applying somewhat broader strokes : ''The hippodrome at Boulogne-sur-Mer'' (1900) and the group portrait ''Summer afternoon'' (1900), ''Young women on the beach'' (1901), ''Young girl with straw bonnet'' (1901), and ''The Reading'' (1903) (with the contrast between red and blue colours). After all his years as talent scout for Octave Maus, van Rysselberghe made the mistake of his life: he didn't recognize the talent of the young
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
(who was in his Blue Period at that time). He found his works "ugly and uninteresting".


Later years

After 1903, his pointillist technique, which he had used for so many years, became more relaxed and after 1910 he abandoned it completely. His strokes had become longer and he used more often vivid colours and more intense contrasts, or softened hues. He had become a master in applying light and heat in his paintings. His ''Olive trees near Nice'' (1905) remind us of the technique used by
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
. These longer strokes in red and mauve become prominent in his ''Bathing ladies under the pine trees at Cavalière'' (1905) After some prospecting, touring on his bike, together with his friend
Henri-Edmond Cross Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, (20 May 1856 – 16 May 1910) was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase of t ...
, of the Mediterranean coast between
Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered around t ...
and
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, he found an interesting spot in Saint-Clair (where Cross already resided). His brother (and neighbour), the architect Octave van Rysselberghe, built him there a residence in 1911. He retired now to the
Côte d'Azur The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
and became more and more detached from the Brussels art scene. Here he continued painting, mostly landscapes of the Mediterranean coast, portraits (of his wife and daughter, and of his brother Octave). In 1910 he received an order for some large decorative murals and flower compositions for the residence of the family Nocard in
Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well ...
, France. From 1905 on, the female nude becomes prominent in his monumental paintings : "After the bath" (1910). His painting ''The vines in October'' (1912) is painted in lively colours of red, green and blue. One of his last works was ''Girl in a bath tub'' (1925). At the end of his life, he also turned to portrait sculpture, such as the ''Head of André Gide''. He died in Saint-Clair,
Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
, France on 14 December 1926 and was buried in the cemetery of Lavandou, next to his friend and painter
Henri-Edmond Cross Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, (20 May 1856 – 16 May 1910) was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase of t ...
. Much of the works of one of the greatest neo-impressionist painters still remain in private collections. They can only rarely be seen. One recent occasion was the retrospective ''Théo van Rysselberghe'' in Brussels and later in The Hague between February and September 2006. In November 2005, his work ''Port Cette'' (1892) fetched a record 2.6m € at an auction in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
.


Family

Van Rysselberghe married Marie Monnom in 1889, with whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth van Rysselberghe. Elizabeth became one of
Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...
's lovers. His brother Octave van Rysselberghe (1855–1929) was a distinguished Belgian architect, who collaborated with
Joseph Poelaert Joseph Poelaert (21 March 1817 – 3 November 1879) was a Belgian architect. He was entrusted with important projects in Brussels, such as Saint Catherine's Church, the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the Congress Column, the Royal Theatre of la ...
and
Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium.'' ...
.


Honours

* 1919: Commander of the Order of Leopold.Royal Decree of H.M. King Albert I on 14.11.1919


References


Bibliography

* * P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, p. 719-721. *Only catalogue raisonné in existence on paintings pastels, watercolours, drawings, etchings, posters (about 1800 entries); including a supplement with a list of works(319 entries) considered not to be genuine. List of signatures and monogrammes; list of letters by van Rysselberghe to different addressees with short contents; bibliography and list of exhibitions. R.Feltkamp, Editions Racine 2003 Brussels. *Monography 237 pages R.Feltkamp, Editions Racine 2003 Brussels *Catalogue of the exhibition "Théo van Rysselberghe" at the "Palais des Beaux Arts", Brussels 'February–May 2006) and the "Gemeentemuseum", The Hague (June–September 2006) *Catalogue of the exhibition "Théo van Rysselberghe : neo-impressionist" at the "Museum of Fine Arts", Ghent 1993


External links

*
Short biography in Dutch

Flemish Art Collection: The Reading by Van Rysselberghe

supplement to the catalogue raisonné

''Signac, 1863–1935''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Théo van Rysselberghe (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:van Rysselberghe, Théo 1862 births 1926 deaths Belgian painters Post-impressionist painters Artists from Ghent Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts alumni