Jan van Beers (artist)

Jan Van Beers (* 1852 in Lier, near Antwerp, † 1927 in Fay- aux- Loges, Loiret, France) was a Belgian painter. The art critics appreciated the mastery of his painting a high and compared it with the old masters of the Dutch painting.

Life

Jan Van Beers the Younger was the son of the Flemish poet of the same name, Jan Van Beers ( 1821-1888 ). As a young boy showed his artistic talent. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and soon became the leader of a group of young artists, which was called Van Beers clique.

Jan Van Beers came to Paris in 1878 and began his work in the studio of his countryman, the Belgian painter Alfred Stevens ( 1823-1906 ). Soon, he founded his own studio and employed the Polish painter Émile Eisman - Semenowsky as his assistant.

At the Salon of Brussels, where he was represented by two of his works, provoked his painting entitled Le Yacht " La Sirene " a scandal. The two art critics Solvay and De Mons claimed that the image was created with a specific precision and detail is developed on the base of a photograph. Van Beers beat the critics preparing to pay them 10,000 francs for the picture Lily and 20,000 francs for the picture La Sirene, if her allegations proved true, and demanded of them the same sums to charity, if her allegations not would confirm. On September 3, 1881, an unknown vandal scratched from the color of the face of the siren, which decided the dispute in favor of the artist.

The works of the artist belonged to the conservative, naturalistic flow of the painting and enjoyed great popularity in the bourgeois public. He also created advertising posters. In Germany, the artist was exhibited at the Berlin gallery of Fritz Gurlitt; his paintings were in the time of Wilhelmismus as " spicy ". Today, up to $ 5,000 to be paid for his oil paintings in the art market.