Marie Howet (24 March 1897 – 24 March 1984) was a

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 language ...

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter and illustrator. Marie Françoise Céline Howet was born in

Libramont Libramont-Chevigny (; wa, Libråmont) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 February 2015, the municipality, which covers 177.86 km², had 10,955 ...

, daughter of Constant Howet, a doctor, and Pauline Thiry. She received a musical education and learned drawing, attending school in

Arlon Arlon (; lb, Arel ; nl, Aarlen ; german: Arel ; wa, Årlon; la, Orolaunum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it is th ...

. Originally she planned to study music but instead chose art and enrolled 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. Here she studied under

Constant Montald Constant Montald (Ghent, 4 December 1862 – Brussels, 5 March 1944) was a Belgian painter, muralist, sculptor, and teacher. Biography Early years In 1874, while receiving an education in decorative painting at the technical school of Ghent d ...

. In her first year she received several prizes, but the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

led to her family's exile in

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. In 1915 she enrolled in the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French '' grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scien ...

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. After the war she returned to Belgium and set up a studio at Rochehaut, near

Bouillon Bouillon can refer to: Food * Bouillon (broth), a simple broth ** Court-bouillon, a quick broth * Bouillon (soup), a Haitian soup * Bouillon (restaurant), a traditional type of French restaurant ** Bouillon Chartier, a bouillon restaurant found ...

, later moving to

Saint Gilles Saint-Gilles or Saint Giles (c. 650 – c. 710) was a Greek Christian hermit saint. Saint-Gilles may also refer to: Belgium * Saint-Gilles, Belgium, a municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region Canada * Saint-Gilles, Quebec, a parish in Quebec ...

. In 1922, aged 25, she won the Belgian Prix de Rome, organised by Belgian arts minister

Jules Destrée Jules Destrée (; Marcinelle, 21 August 1863 – Brussels, 3 January 1936) was a Walloon lawyer, cultural critic and socialist politician. The trials subsequent to the strikes of 1886 determined his commitment within the Belgian Labour Party. ...

, for her ''Devant la maison à Rochehaut''. Her works received critical acclaim and several prizes for her work. She travelled and exhibited frequently abroad, illustrating collections of poetry on Greece, Turkey, Ireland, and Italy. She died on her 87th birthday at Libramont.

References

* Dupont, Pierre-Paul, "HOWET, Marie, Françoise, Céline (1897–1984)" in E. Gubin, C. Jacques, V. Piette & J. Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIX^e et XX^e siècles.'' Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Howet, Marie 1897 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Belgian women artists 20th-century Belgian painters Belgian Expressionist painters Belgian illustrators People from Libramont-Chevigny Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners Belgian women painters Belgian women illustrators 20th-century women painters