Théo Van Rysselberghe, Study Of A Female Nude, Sanguine On Paper, Nineteenth

Study of a female nude in sanguine on paper. Signature lower right. Framed and under glass. Small chip on the frame A tear, slight foxing. Good condition. Dimensions: --- Théo Van Rysselberghe (1862-1926) Known for having been one of the main representatives of pointillism (or neo-impressionism) in Belgium. After his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and at the Academy of Brussels under the direction of Jean-François Portaels, Théo Van Rysselberghe participated in an exhibition at the Brussels Salon for the first time in 1881. Circa 1886- 1887, he discovers the work of Georges Seurat in the company of Émile Verhaeren. A friend of patron Octave Maus, he was one of the founding members in 1883 of the avant-garde Brussels group Les Vingt. At the end of the 19th century, the pointillism of his paintings gave way to a composition with large elongated strokes. Like Georges Pierre Seurat and Paul Signac, he produced many seascapes. He also made engravings that are much less known. In addition to post-impressionism, the painter will also be influenced by Japonism, an admirer, in particular of Hiroshige. He painted a certain number of groups of female nudes which he made his favorite theme from 1910: L'Heure embrasée (1897), Bather around a rock (1910), Baigneuses à Cavalière (1910). He also painted a few isolated nudes (Nageuse au repos: 1922, L'Ablution ou Vénus accroupie: 1922). However, eroticism does not seem to be very present, at least for the writer André Gide who speaks in this regard of “hygienic nudes”. This period sees the transition between the influence of post-impressionism and a tendency towards classicism. Théo van Rysselberghe also illustrated books, such as Émile Verhaeren's collection of texts, the Almanach in 1895, drawing initials, arabesques and illustrations. He thus decorates certain exhibition catalogs of the XX group.