|
 |
William Degouve de
Nuncques
(1867-1935) |
(b Monthermé, France, 28 Feb 1867;
d Stavelot, 1 March 1935). Belgian painter of French
birth. After the Franco-Prussian war (1870–71), his
parents settled in Belgium. Although self-taught, he was
advised by Jan Toorop, with whom he shared a studio, and
later lived with Henry de Groux. In 1894 he married
Juliette Massin, a painter and Emile Verhaeren’s
sister-in-law, who introduced him to the circle of
Symbolist poets. His art, which bears the influence of
poetry, transfigures reality in the sense that it
affords a view of the invisible. Degouve de Nuncques
belonged to the avant-garde group Les XX and later
exhibited at the Libre Esthétique. He travelled widely
and painted views of Italy, Austria and France, often of
parks at night. He excelled in the use of pastel. Two
works, in particular, demonstrate the magical quality of
his work: Pink House (1892; Otterlo, Kröller–Müller) and
Peacocks (1896; Brussels, Mus. A. Mod.).
|
