Adolphe Wansart
Adolphe Wansart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 October 1873 |
| Died | 3 October 1954 (aged 80) |
| Citizenship | Belgian |
| Occupation(s) | Painter, Sculptor, Medallist |
Adolphe Wansart, born October 18, 1873, in Verviers and died October 3, 1954 (aged 80) in Brussels, was a Belgian painter and sculptor.
Biography
[edit]Adolphe Wansart was the son of Brigadier Henri Guillaume Wansart and Henriette Marie Augustine Frazier.[1] He received his education at the Academy of Liège. Recognizing his son's potential, his retired father decided to relocate the family to Brussels to further Adolphe's studies.[2] Adolphe became a student of Jan Frans Portaels at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. He made his debut as a painter at the Brussels Salon in 1893, where he won the Godecharle Prize for his drawing "Wandering Souls."[3] Adolphe eventually settled in Uccle.
Starting in 1897, Adolphe Wansart worked in the studio of Charles Van der Stappen at the Brussels Academy, where he increasingly focused on sculpture while continuing to draw and paint.[4] He created busts, memorials, funerary monuments, medals, and reliefs.[5] Henri Kerels' monograph on Wansart lists a total of 85 works: 68 monuments, compositions, and portraits, 13 medals, and 4 pieces of copperware.[2] Wansart also sculpted several pieces featuring his wife, the artist Lucie Desmet (1873–1943), whom he met at the Brussels Academy. One notable work, a bust of Lucie exhibited in 1925 at the Ghent Triennial Exhibition, was praised by art critic Leo Van Puyvelde. He described Wansart as an artist "whose strong Portrait of his Wife is a magnificent example of the modern feeling for volume with solid surfaces and large lines, without too great a deviation from nature or too strict an attachment to reality."[6] In 1927, Wansart moved with his wife and son, Eric, to Rueil-Malmaison, near Paris, while maintaining his studio in Uccle. He primarily designed in France but produced his works in Belgium.[7]
His largest works were created for the city of Liège. The most notable is the 24-meter-long relief titled "Liège, Arts et Sciences," which adorns the entrance to the Palais des Fêtes, constructed for an international exhibition on water technology in 1939.[8] This work is an allegorical representation of Liège, highlighting its industrial and cultural heritage. Another significant piece is a six-meter-high statue of a knight with a shield and sword (1948–50), carved from blue stone. This knight symbolizes the Burgundian Netherlands, one of the four historical periods depicted on either side of the Pont des Arches in Liège. Wansart passed away at the age of 80, and an avenue in Uccle was named in his honor.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Geboorteakte n° 1114, via FamilySearch.
- ^ a b Henri Kerels (1955) Adolphe Wansart. Antwerpen: De Sikkel. Uit de serie 'Monografieën over Belgische Kunst'.
- ^ Dorine Cardyn-Oomen et al. (1986) Beeldhouwwerken en assemblages 19de en 20ste eeuw. Uitgave van het Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap/Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen.
- ^ Jacques van Lennep (red.) (1990) De 19de-eeuwse Belgische beeldhouwkunst. Brussel: Generale Bank. ISBN 978-90-94015-31-2. p. 294-295.
- ^ Stefan De Lombaert, "Het medaille-oeuvre van Adolphe Wansart", Flash medailles.
- ^ Leo Van Puyvelde, "Kunstberichten", Onze kunst, jaargang 22 (1925), deel XLII, p. 65-76.
- ^ Cor Engelen en Mieke Marx (2002) Beeldhouwkunst in België vanaf 1830. Brussel: Algemeen Rijksarchief en Rijksarchief in de provinciën, Studia 90. Volume III, p. 1796-1801.
- ^ Zie het artikel Palais des fêtes de la Ville de Liège op de Franstalige Wikipedia.
Resources
[edit]- Serge Goyens de Heusch, L’impressionnisme et le fauvisme en Belgique, Anvers/Paris, Fonds Mercator/Albin Michel, 1988 ISBN 978-906153179-1
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