COLLECTION OF BUST PORTRAITS BY GEORGES VAN DER STRAETEN

COLLECTION OF BUST PORTRAITS : by Georges Van Der Straeten 

Description: 

30 years of research were necessary for the gallery to assemble the 18 pieces of the collection of busts by the Belgian sculptor Georges Van der Straeten (1856 – 1941). This unique collection features portraits of Parisian women from the Comédie Française and the theater of ‘La Belle Époque’.

Belgian Sculptor Georges Van der Straeten (1856 – 1941)

Van der Straeten abandonned in 1882 his career as a lawyer to dedicate his life to sculpture. He was a pupil of G. Kasteleyn and the famous Jef Lambeaux. Later he left Ghent for Paris where he stayed from 1883 untill his death in 1928. In Paris he met the belgian painters Jan Van Beers and Rik Wouters, with who he became good friends.
He excelled in portraits of young and elegant women in the taste of the 18th century painters as Watteau. Most of his extensive production were chryséléphantines and bronze sculptures.

Georges Van der Straeten received many rewards including the Silver medal at the world exhibition of 1900 and the French Medal of Honor in 1903.
Some of Georges Van der Straeten’s artworks can be found in the museum of Maubeuge in France and in the museum “Beaux-arts” in Brussels.

Material :   

• Patinated bronze. Gilded bronze. Ivory.
  On marble and onyx bases.

Size :

• 16-20 cm (6.3 – 7.9 in)

Period :  

• ca. 1900.