#Alfred Jacques Verwee

[random-brushstrokes]

Alfred Jacques Verwee (Belgian, 1838 - 1895) - Brabant horse

#Alfred Jacques Verwee #belgian art #animals in art

[dutch-and-flemish-painters]

Alfred Verwee - Thunderstorm -

 oil on canvas, 110 x 140 cm

Alfred Jacques Verwee (23 April 1838, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode – 15 September 1895, Schaerbeek) was a Belgian painter known for his depictions of animals, landscapes and seascapes.

Around 1880, he became fascinated with the area surrounding Knokke, and an informal artists' colony slowly took root there. At the time, he began alternating between landscape and animal painting, doing the landscapes plein air and posing the animals in his studio. He is generally considered to be Belgium's first great animal painter.

By 1887, he saw that Knokke could become a major tourist attraction, so he joined with two local businessmen to purchase a large tract of dunes and polders to subdivide for property developers. In 1888, he built a villa, the "Fleur des Dunes" and, in 1891, joined with his friend, Paul Parmentier, to create "Knokke-Attractions", a promotional firm.

His health began to deteriorate in 1892. First, he suffered from rheumatism, then was diagnosed with throat cancer. In 1895, he travelled to Southern France, Algeria and Egypt in hopes of finding a warm, dry climate that would improve his health. A few weeks before his death, his friends brought him back to Knokke and he died at his home in Schaerbeek.

#Alfred Verwee #19th #belgium #knokke #horse #Thunderstorm

[simena]

VERWEE Alfred Jacques (detail)

[simena]

VERWEE Alfred Jacques (detail)