
Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (9 June 1798 – 19 January 1881) was a
Belgian painter, a sculptor, an etcher, an engraver, and a lithographer of animals, animated landscapes, and portraits.
Biography
Eugène Verboeckhoven was born at
Warneton
Warneton (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
Bounding communes and places
*Warneton, Belgium (part of Comines-Warneton)
* Comines, east
* Quesnoy-sur-Deûle, southea ...
in
West Flanders
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
. He studied under his father, Barthélemy Verboeckhoven, a sculptor. In 1816 he worked under Voituron in
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
. In the first half of the 19th century, the salons were a home for burgeoning art. Verboeckhoven was a regular participant at the Ghent (1820 and 1824) and Brussels Salons (1827–1860). He visited the
Ardennes
The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France.
Geological ...
, France, Great Britain (1826), Germany (1828) and Italy (1841). He was held in high repute and elaborated on the works of artists such as
De Jonghe,
De Noter,
Koekkoek,
Daiwaille, Kheelhof, Verheyden, and his pupils Louis-Pierre Verwee and the
Tschaggeny brothers. He was a member of the academies of Brussels, Ghent,
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
,
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
Verboeckhoven was an excellent painter of animals and, together with his pupils, appears to have been the last link to a secular tradition with its roots deep in the 17th century, which linked observation of nature, studied composition, and idealized reproduction of reality. Like the Old Masters, he obtained the colour blue for his skies by grinding down
lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...
. He was a prolific artist and very meticulous in his preparation: hundreds of sketches and studies were produced on the spot, assembling different elements like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Such was his dexterity that many artists called upon him to enrich their works with some of his animals and figures. Between 1841 and 1842, he visited Italy, Switzerland, and Scotland. His inspiration remained the same and his technique unaltered, but his notebooks were now filled with sketches of different landscapes.
The beauty that emanates from his paintings occasionally hides Verboeckhoven's fundamental talent for drawing. Attention should first be drawn to his preparatory works: his sketches, lithographs, and engravings. His portraits, historical subjects, and sculptures also merit attention.
Membership and awards
He was a Member of
The Royal Academy of Belgium, of the Commission of Directors of the Royal Museums of Painting and Sculpture of Belgium; of
Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp () is an art academy located in Antwerp, Belgium. It is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of ...
,
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
, and
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
; Commander of the Orders of
Leopold
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold
* Leopold (surname)
Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold B ...
, of
Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
of Austria, Chevalier of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
of France, of the Merit of the
St Michael
Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...
of Bavaria, of Christ of Portugal. He also possessed the
Croix de Guerre
The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
, which he received for his patriotic services during the
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a 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.
The ...
of 1830. He was buried with Military honours.
[The Graphic Newspaper 05 Feb 1881 p9 accessed 17 Aug 2023]
Other activities
A man of his time, he played an important role in the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and was appointed Director General of the Brussels Museums of Fine Arts by the temporary government. Until the end of his life, he was a member of the Committee of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and when King Leopold I created the category of Fine Arts at the Academy in 1848, he was on the advisory board. Verboeckhoven was also involved in local politics. From 1861 to 1867, he was the Deputy Mayor for the Schaerbeek Council, Brussels.
Like many of his colleagues, Verboeckhoven was a freemason. He joined the Brussels Lodge in 1834 with his brother
Charles-Louis, a well-known
marine painter
Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre parti ...
, and his initiation took place on 25 February 1834. Shortly after joining, he suggested founding a Freemason museum. He was very attached to his philosophical convictions and from 1834 onwards and systematically after 1850 added the triangle of three Masonic points to his signature. Eugène Verboeckhoven died in Schaerbeek, Brussels, in 1881. His works are held in museums worldwide.
Selected paintings
File:Landschap met dieren, Eugène Verboeckhoven, 1846, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 1847-B.jpg, ''Landscape with a herder and his flock'' (1846)
File:A CAVALIER AT REST .jpg, ''Cavalier at rest'' (1849)
File:Eugene Verboeckhoven Esel und Hühner im Stall 1863.jpg, ''Donkey and Hens in the Barn'' (1863)
File:Na de Jacht - Verboeckhoven.jpg, ''On the Hunt'' (1865)
File:Eugène Verboeckhoven - Hongerige wolven overvallen een groep ruiters.jpg, ''Hungry Wolves Attacking a Group of Horsemen'' (1836)
File:Eugène Verboeckhoven - Portrait of a man in a white turban.jpg, ''Portrait of a man in a white turban'' (1881)
Notes
Sources
*
* P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, pp. 738–740.
* P. & V. Berko, N. Hostyn e.a. Eugène Verboeckhoven, Knokke, 1981
Online Consultation* P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Animal Painters; Belgian and Dutch Artists born between 1750 and 1880", Knokke 1998, pp. 7–73 & 484–485.
* P. & V. Berko, "19th Century European Virtuoso Painters", Knokke 2011, pp. 518–519, illustrations pp. 256–257, 318, 319, 335, 337, 339, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 349, 358, 359, 361, 366, 432, 433.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verboeckhoven, Eugene Joseph
19th-century Belgian painters
Belgian male painters
Belgian male sculptors
19th-century Belgian sculptors
19th-century Belgian male artists
1798 births
1881 deaths
Belgian painters of animals
People from Comines-Warneton
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
19th-century Belgian engravers
Belgian etchers
19th-century Belgian lithographers