Théo Kerg (2 June 1909 – 4 March 1993) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish painter and sculptor who specialized in

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

Life

Kerg was born to a schoolmaster and his wife in Niederkorn, in south-western Luxembourg and attended school in

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (, ; ; or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is a city in Luxembourg and the country's List of communes of Luxembourg by population, second-most populous commune, with a population of 36,625 inhabitants, . It lies in the south-west of the ...

. He moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1929 to study at the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

, the Sorbonne and the

Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie The ''Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie'', also known as the Michelet Campus, is a building at 3 rue Michelet in Paris, built for the educational institution of the same name (French for "Institute of Art and Archaeology"). It was initially design ...

. From 1932 to 1933, he studied at the Kunstakademie in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, under the supervision of

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

and Oskar Moll. He returned to Luxembourg in 1936 to become an art professor. In 1943, following the

German invasion of Luxembourg The German invasion of Luxembourg was part of Case Yellow (), the German invasion of the Low Countries—Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands—and France during World War II. The battle began on 10 May 1940 and lasted just one day. Facing ...

, Théo Kerg resigned from his position. He was however subsequently arrested in 1944 by the Luxembourgish allied militia, and kept in prison for 15 months as a preventive measure. He left Luxembourg in 1946, aiming to settle in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, but stopped in Paris where he illustrated a book by Paul Eluard. He permanently settled in Paris, and spent the last three years of his life in Chissey-en-Morvan, in

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, where he died in 1993.

Art

Théo Kerg took part in over 300 group exhibitions and over 150 individual exhibitions. He founded a movement he called "tactilism", whereby a work of art would appear differently depending on the

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

, the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and other environmental variables. In Luxembourg, he is remembered especially for his stained-glass windows at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Cents (1975)."L'Église du Saint-Esprit"
''City Magazine Luxembourg'', October 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2011.

Prizes and recognitions

* 1935 Gold Medal at the World Exhibition,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. * 1950 Hallmark Prize, Paris. * 1951 First Prize at the

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Biennale, section ''Bianco e Nero''. * 1953 Noceto Prize,

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

* 1953 Second Prize at the International Exhibition,

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. * 1955 "Un ami des artistes" Prix at the

Grand Palais The (; ), commonly known as the , is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, France. Construction of the began in 1897 following the demolitio ...

in Paris. * 1956 "Salon de la Marine" 1955–56 in Paris. * 1957 Gold Medal at the "VI Mostra Nazionale del Disegno e dell Incisione",

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

. * 1957 French Prize from the ''Ministère des affaires culturelles'', Paris. * 1958 ''Mention'' at the ''Salon de la Marine'', Paris. * 1958 ''Prix de la critique belge'', Brussels. * 1968 Silver Medal at the Targa Internazionale "Europa Arte",

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

. * 1969 ''Floralies internationales'' Prize, Paris * 1971 Gold Medal for glass design,

Montrouge Montrouge () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased agai ...

. * 1971 Signatures Prize, abstract category, First Prize, Cultural Center of

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

. * 1971 Grand Prize at the ''IVe Biennale azuréenne de peinture et de la sculpture'',

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

References

External links

Théo Kerg website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerg, Theo 1909 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Luxembourgian painters 20th-century male artists Male painters People from Differdange École des Beaux-Arts alumni