Paul Hagemans Art

Paul Hagemans was born in Antwerp in 1884, the son of the celebrated landscape painter Maurice Hagemans. Hagemans received early artistic instruction from his father, but at the age of 15 enrolled at the Academy of Antwerp. Here, Hagemans was fortunate enough to be tutored by one of the most important landscape painters of 19th century Belgium, Isidore Verheyden as well as receiving classes in figure painting from Herman Richir. Graduating in 1906, Hagemans established a studio in Antwerp and commenced painting the portraits, figure pieces, landscapes and still-lifes for which he is now celebrated. His early career was spent painting several large murals as well as designing stained-glass windows for both ecclesiastical and secular purposes. Although much in demand during this early part of his career, it was not until after World War I that his work was fully appreciated by the public and critics of Belgium. By the early 1920s, Hagemans had fully developed his unique style of painting, one that utilized a thick impasto and a Luministe color palette. Hagemans was to exhibit his work at all of the major Belgian art institutions as well as private galleries too numerous to list.