Ernest Vanden Panhuysen - The Mill At Knokke

Ernest Vanden Panhuysen was a naturalist, animal, and portrait painter.

Orphaned, he spent his childhood in Aarschot, where he took drawing lessons from a very young age. He studied at the Academy of Louvain (Constantin Meunier) and, during his military service, at the Academy of Antwerp. He continued his studies at the NHISKA. In 1901, he received the N. de Keyser Prize. He visited Rome and made his debut at the Triennale Salons in 1897. From 1903, he taught at the Academy of Aalst, moving to Grimbergen in 1906 after his marriage, then to Schaerbeek in 1914. He died in a tragic accident in 1929.

Initially an animal painter, his portraits, painted in luminous and austere landscapes, are remarkable for their likeness. The town of Aarschot acquired a large part of his work and a retrospective was organized at Averbode Abbey in 1974. Other works of his work were exhibited at the town hall of Aalst.

Sources:
PAS, W. & G., “ARTO: Biografische Lexicon Plastische Kunst in België”, De Gulden Roos, Antwerp, 2000 “Tentoonstelling der schilderijen uit de verzameling Ernest Vanden Panhuysen”, Aarschotse Kring voor Heemkunde, 1965 Coeck A., Gerits TJ, Van Gelder S., “ Retrospektieve Ernest Vanden Panhuysen (1874-1929): Bij de honderdste verjaring van zijn geboorte”, Textbook binding – 1974