Alfred Verwee (1838-1895), Horse, Oil On Marouflaged Canvas, Belgian School Circa 1870.

Alfred Verwee (1838-1895), Horse, oil on mounted canvas, Belgian school around 1870, certified on the back of the canvas, in its original frame.
Alfred Jacques Verwée is a Belgian painter born in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode on April 23, 1838 and died in Schaerbeek on September 14, 1895. He was one of the pioneers of the realist movement and one of the first animal painter. Alfred Verwée obtained his diploma as a land surveyor, but was unable to complete his engineering studies due to family financial difficulties. Painting had long been a hobby, therefore, with the support of his father, he chose this career. He begins by painting countryside landscapes in the same romantic style. One of his first influences was the French artist Constant Troyon, a member of the Barbizon school. In 1853, he took lessons with the landscape painter and portrait painter François Charles Deweirdt (1799-1855), who had been a friend and collaborator of his father. He later enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, but only took a few courses. His first exhibition took place in 1857, but he did not gain real recognition until 1863, on the occasion of the Brussels Salon, where he received a gold medal. He won his second gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1864. On the advice of professional acquaintances, he moved to Paris and came into contact with more painters from the Barbizon school. However, this did not lead to the expected financial success and he returned to Brussels a year later. Then from 1867 to 1868 he lived in London, but, again, commercial success was unobtainable and he returned home broke. Despite this, he got married and then embarked on a tour of the Netherlands, during which he would befriend The Hague marine painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag. That same year he became a founding member of the "Société Libre des Beaux-Arts", a group opposed to academism. During this time, he began to paint outdoors to achieve a naturalistic style. From 1875 to 1880, he tried to create a grand vision of the Flemish countryside. In 1876, he participated in the creation of "La Chrysalide", an ephemeral association considered as a precursor of "Les XX". Two years later, François Musin, Louis Dubois, Amédée Lynen and others were invited by the architectural firm Naert et Laureys to provide decorations for a new spa in Oostende. The room he decorated is now known as "Verwee-zaal".