^
Died on 01 March 1935: William
Degouve de Nuncques, Belgian Symbolist
artist born on 28 February 1867.
— Encouraged by his father, the eccentric descendant of an old French
family, to daydream, Degouve shared a studio with Toorop, who influenced
him. He was married to the sister-in-law of the Belgian poet Emile
Verhaeren. In Paris he was encouraged by Rodin,
Puvis
de Chavannes and Maurice
Denis. His paintings have a highly private quality of invention and
represent places of mystery, where unexpected adventures may suddenly occur.
He remained true to the imaginative intensity of his youth and continued
to produce works with Symbolist themes into the Twentieth century.
— Belgian painter of French birth. After the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71),
his parents settled in Belgium. Although self-taught, he was advised by
Jan
Toorop, with whom he shared a studio, and later lived with Henry
de Groux. In 1894 he married Juliette Massin, a painter and Emile Verhaeren’s
sister-in-law, who introduced him to the circle of Symbolist poets. His
art, which bears the influence of poetry, transfigures reality in the sense
that it affords a view of the invisible. Degouve de Nuncques belonged to
the avant-garde group Les XX and later exhibited at the Libre Esthétique.
He traveled widely and painted views of Italy, Austria and France, often
of parks at night. He excelled in the use of pastel. Two works, in particular,
demonstrate the magical quality of his work: Pink House (1892)
and Peacocks
(1896)
From 1900 to 1902 Degouve de Nuncques lived
with his wife in the Balearic Islands; he painted the rugged coastline and
the orange groves. After suffering a religious crisis in about 1910, he
painted pictures that revealed his tormented state of mind, and during World
War I, while living as a refugee in the Netherlands, he produced only minor
works. In 1919 he was overwhelmed by the death of his wife and lost the
use of one hand. In 1930 he married the woman who had helped him through
this crisis. They settled in Stavelot, where he devoted himself to painting
snow-covered landscapes.
— LINKS
— The
Pink House (1892, 63x43cm) _ This painting is also known as The
Shuttered House or The House of Mystery. It is said to have
inspired Magritte's paintings such as Empire of the Lights.
— The
Angels of Night (1894, 48x60cm) _ Also known as Angels in the Night.
The works of Degouve de Nuncques are often a poetic evocation of childhood
daydreams This is as true of The Pink House as of this nocturnal
vision in which angels kiss in a ghostly, supernatural park.
— Nocturnal
Effect (1896, 47x68cm) _ The artist often depicts isolated houses in
the night and the fog, with only a few weakly lit windows to suggest that
they are inhabited.
— The
Black Swan (1896, 38x47cm) _ This pastel is characteristic of the artist's
Symbolist period, when he often strove to create an atmosphere of mystery
by eliminating any trace of a human presence from his delicately shaded
blue and green twilight scenes
— Child
with Owl (1892, 41x35cm) — Night
in Bruges (1897, 24x35cm) |
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