Rik Wouters (1882 -1916) was almost a fictional character: a penniless artist, a tragic love, a genius died that died much too young. In his attic studio he created with clay, drawing paper and floodlight an impatient oeuvre, with the generous body of his wife and model Nel in a starring role. The woman of his life was immediately Wouters' first biographer and guardian of his estate, which she would manage with an iron hand. There are three places in the book: the art metropolis of Brussels, the village of Bosvoorde, where Wouters managed to grasp the earthy, golden glow of things in bronze and paint, and finally Amsterdam. At the very edge of the Great War, he would, in the Netherlands, struggling up and forth from his rented flat to the sick-bay, create his last works: consolation and pride for those who have everything to lose. Biographer Eric Min held the largely unpublished memoirs, scrapbooks and letters from Nel once more against the light. Along with other, unique resources that has brought us a wide panorama of the artistic Belle Epoque.
(translated description of the book, to be published on 07/04/2011)
links:
The exhibition in Mechelen (09/24/2011-2017)
A most interesting link on the lives of Rik and Nel (in Dutch)(translated description of the book, to be published on 07/04/2011)
links:
The exhibition in Mechelen (09/24/2011-2017)
Where Rik got some of his inspiration.
Rik Wouters on artnet.
A few of my favorite paintings & drawings of the master:
_-_De_strijkster_(1912)_-_28-02-2010_13-17-27.jpg/697px-Kmska_Rik_Wouters_(1882-1916)_-_De_strijkster_(1912)_-_28-02-2010_13-17-27.jpg) |
| De strijkster (1912) Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten te Antwerpen |
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| Dame in blauw voor een spiegel (1914) KMSK Brussel |
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| Zelfportret (1902) |
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| Lachende vrouw (1910) |
