Monday, October 27, 2014

Jan Verhas

The Review of Scholars 1878 (La revue des ecoles en 1878)
other detail unknown
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Jan Francois Verhas (1834-1896) was a genre painter and is considered the founder of the Academy of Dendermonde.
He was best known for his paintings of children of the Belgian bourgeoisie, in a classical style but with a natural feeling to them. genre scenes, portraits, landscapes and animals. He observed his subject sharply and has created a gentle atmosphere with pure lines and colours. His palette became clearer and his colours more and more refined.

He studied at the Academy in Antwerp, finishing with the Belgian Prix de Rome in 1860. Around 1860 he spent some time in Paris. He visited Italy in 1862 and returned to settle in Antwerp. In 1863 he achieved great success with his painting. From 1863 to 1867 he lived in Binche and from 1867 onwards in Brussels, where he specialised in portraits. After the somewhat academic beginnings to his career, he took up romantic painting and was then attracted to the theme of children. He was made a Chevalier in the Legion of Honor in 1881, and was awarded a Gold Medal in Paris in 1889.