Laurent Geedts
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Laurent_Geedts_-_Trompe_l%E2%80%99oeil_still_life_of_birds_hanging_from_nails_against_a_wooden_wall.jpg/270px-Laurent_Geedts_-_Trompe_l%E2%80%99oeil_still_life_of_birds_hanging_from_nails_against_a_wooden_wall.jpg)
Laurent Geedts (Leuven, 1728 – Leuven, 1813) was a Flemish still life painter active in Leuven. He is known for his trompe-l'œil still lifes of game birds.[1]
Life
[edit]Laurent Geedts was born in Leuven where he appears to have been active throughout his career. He is the first artist in the Geedts family and was followed by a large number of painters, sculptors and engravers. His nephew Josse-Pieter Geedts was a genre, history and religious artist and Josse-Pieter’s son Pieter Paul was a portrait painter, lithographer and sculptor. The artists in the Geedts family further included Guillaume-Auguste (1802–1866) and his three sons Auguste, Hippolyte and Paul.[2]
Laurent Geedts was the master of François Xavier Joseph Jacquin (1756–1826).[2]
Work
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Laurent_Geedts_-_Trompe_l%27oeil_still_life_with_a_dead_hare%2C_a_wryneck%2C_great_spotted_woodpecker%2C_thrushes_and_finches.jpg/220px-Laurent_Geedts_-_Trompe_l%27oeil_still_life_with_a_dead_hare%2C_a_wryneck%2C_great_spotted_woodpecker%2C_thrushes_and_finches.jpg)
Laurent specialised in still life paintings and in particular trompe-l'œil still lifes of game. He was active as a decorative artist whose works were designed to be displayed over a chimney or as an over-door. He produced accurately observed depictions of birds.
His work continued the tradition of trompe-l'œil still lifes of game of the Netherlandish masters of the 17th century such as Jacob Biltius, Cornelis Biltius and Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts. His illusionistic works of game birds against a plain or wooden wall use natural light and shade effects, combined with a very detailed and precise rendering of the plumage to create the trompe-l'œil effect that they appear to be real.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Ma Pacco, 'Laurent Geedts' in: Dictionnaire des peintres belges (in French)
- ^ a b c Laurent Geedts, Trompe l’oeil still life of birds hanging from nails against a wooden wall at John Bennett Fine Arts, London
External links
[edit]Media related to Laurent Geedts at Wikimedia Commons