|
|
|
|
The School of MechelenAt the beginning of this century, the painter Rik Wouters, born in Mechelen in the year 1882, worked in the vein of Cézanne. The latter, through his synthetic way of looking at things, was responsible for the blue-print of a complete new vision in art. The work of Rik Wouters proved to be a rich source of inspiration for later generations. Ernest Albert (1900-1976), director of the Academy of Arts of Mechelen, cultivated the creative ideas of Rik Wouters in his own work. His former pupil, Leo Bosselaers, born in 1933, has passed on this acquired vision during a period of more than 25 years as art-teacher in the same Academy of Arts.
Leo Bosselaers This is why we can actually speak of the School of Mechelen . Thanks to the lessons of Leo Bosselaers, a large group of young painters is now, each in his own personal way, expressing the same vital joy of living in their paintings. The characteristic style of all these painters could be described as Picturalism. PicturalismPicturalism could well be the missing link between Art and the Public. After a period of about 50 years in which the original was proclaimed the standard, in which the arts became more and more intellectual and less and less rooted in the familiar cultural ground, and as a result became unreadable, incomprehensible and therefore unloved, time has come for a natural swing to the other side. The individualistic, conceptual tendencies are changed for ordinary, recognizable themes. Those we find in the work of the Father of Modern Art, Cézanne. Landscape, still life, portrait and interior, these genres can be put to life again purely on a pictural basis. If the artist is willing to start working again on the familiar ground of his own cultural inheritance, he will be understood and loved. Art will then get closer to the public.
|
|
Send mail to SKILL@vt4.net with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
