Exodus from Antwerp on 8 October, 1914

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Exodus from Antwerp on 8 October, 1914

About the Item

Louis van Engelen was a realist painter of animals, portraits, panoramic paintings, urban landscapes with figures, genre scenes, landscapes and the river banks of the Scheldt and the Rupel. Realism and then Impressionism had a seriously tight hold on nineteenth century history painting. The ambitious compositions deployed a strong narrative potential. After studying at the Fine Arts Academy in Lier, his hometown near Antwerp, the young van Engelen studied commercial sciences and began working for the law court. But he picked up again his artistic aspirations and completed his training at the prestigious Antwerp Academy, together with Piet van Engelen (1863-1924), his younger brother. His older brother August van Engelen (1853-1871) was a painter too. After a brilliant international career, the painter and engraver Charles Verlat (1824-1890) returned in May 1877 to Antwerp, where he was appointed professor of painting, then director of the Royal Academy (1885). He passed on his epic aspirations to his students. He created spectacular panoramic paintings and realised together with Louis Van Engelen (until 1881) paintings of the battle of Waterloo in 1815 and the battle of Bapaume during the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, which enthused the audience. In 1882 the teacher and his student went to Russia, where they set up a panorama of the city of Moscow. Louis van Engelen travelled a lot: e.g. to Italy (1883), to the Northern United States, the Congo Free State (1893) and the Kerguelen Islands (also known as the Desolation Islands) in the southern Indian Ocean. These journeys resulted in two publications: Mon voyage au Congo en 1893 (My trip to Congo in 1893) (1930) and Le mémorable voyage du S.Y. Silica (The memorable trip of S.Y. Silica) (1932). Well integrated in the Flemish art world, Louis van Engelen was a member of the art circle Als ik Kan (If I Can, the motto of the famous Flemish Renaissance painter, Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)) (1889). Als ik Kan organized numerous exhibitions in Europe, contributing to the artist’s international reputation. Van Engelen was also a founding member of the art group De XIII (The XIII) (1891). Following the principles of the modern school, Louis van Engelen loved to work outdoors. On the river banks of the Scheldt and the Rupel, he represented the vivid landscapes of everyday life, such as the winter joy of skaters. His compositions show genre scenes with characters from the lower social class but also cultivated genre scenes, like a meeting at the Belvedere coffee shop bringing together the beau monde of Antwerp. In 1890 he executed the large painting Les Émigrants belges, nowadays in the collection of the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp. It shows Belgian emigrants leaving to seek fortune across the Atlantic, in the United States. With painting L’Exode des Anversois (The Exodus from Antwerp) van Engelen returns to a similar topic, but with a more dramatic touch. Provenance: a Flemish family who experienced the first months of the World War I and the exodus The Exodus from Antwerp is a dramatic genre scene that brings the tumultuous history of Belgium at the beginning of the WWI to life. This painting is of real museum quality. On 4 August 1914, Germany violated the neutrality of Belgium and invaded the country. After weeks of resistance, Antwerp capitulated in October. On 8 October 1914, a large crowd was fleeing their Antwerp homes, fearing bombardments. They borrowed the mobile bridge built by the Belgian army to reach the other river bank of the Scheldt. Louis van Engelen, still attached to the epic, narrative style depicted a striking large-scale population movement, mingling people of all ages, all classes. Hunted and crowded on the paths they took animals, luggage and food with them. With a keen sense of observation, Louis van Engelen has an intensive use of greens, blues and greys which envelops the scene in a melancholic atmosphere. Without succumbing to the temptation of blurry representations, the background is represented according to the impressionist technique; the high tower suggests the Notre-Dame Cathedral overlooking the city. In the foreground, various characters Stand out: a mother and her two well dressed daughters, an elder upper class lady holding carefully her little dog in her arms while her maid carries the suitcase. Behind them a cart with a young woman nursing a baby. Before them an elder upper class couple with their daughter holding a leather travelling bag, and lower class people e.g. a mother with her little child on the arm accompanied by her young daughter, a grandmother with a young boy carrying a bundle of their belongings over his shoulder. These figures are treated with realism and a pictorial impeccable taste, inherited from the Flemish painters of the Golden Age. This painting shows an admirable realism with restrained emotion. The website 'RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History' shows a black and white reproduction of the painting mentioning the French and Flemish titles L’Exode des Anversois - De Vlucht der Antwerpenaren 8 October 1914 (meaning both The Exodus from Antwerp 8 October 1914. 1915. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right Louis van Engelen. XX. 2015. Measures: H. 130 cm, W. 245 cm. Situated: presumably the Oude Baan at Zandvliet/Berendrecht. Museum: Antwerp. Sources: Bénézit, E. (vol. 5) (1999), Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays par un groupe d’écrivains spécialistes français et étrangers, Paris: Éditions Gründ, p. 124; Pas, W. & G. (vol. 2) (2000), ARTO 2000 Biografisch Lexicon Plastische Kunst in België. Schilders Beeldhouwers Grafici 1830-2000, Antwerpen: De Gulden Roos, p. 472; Website RKD Netherlands Institute for art history https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images/224693.

Creator:
Louis van Engelen 2 (Painter)
Dimensions:
Height: 51.18 in (130 cm)Width: 96.46 in (245.01 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12.02 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Painted
Place of Origin:
Belgium
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1915
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. This is a highly important historical painting.
Seller Location:
Brussels & Antwerp, BE
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU95165712633