Franz Vinck
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Franz Vinck or Frans Vinck (14 September 1827 – 17 October 1903) was a Belgian painter known for his history paintings, genre and Orientalist scenes and portraits. He led a peripatetic life style and travelled and worked in many countries.Frans Vinck
at the
Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...


Life

Vinck was born in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
. His father was a bookkeeper at the local gin distiller Louis Meeus. As a child Vinck took drawing lessons with the painter Karel Schippers, the fiancé of a cousin. His parents wanted him to study the violin at the Conservatory of Brussels, but instead he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten) in Antwerp. His teachers at the Academy included Edward Dujardin and
Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans or Jozef Laurent Dyckmans ( Lier, 9 August 1811 – Antwerp, 8 January 1888) was a Belgian painter mainly of genre scenes and portraits whose painstakingly detailed pictures earned him the nickname 'The Belgian Gerar ...
.Jan Lampo, ''Maagden van vlees en maagden van verf. Kleine biografie van Antverpia, de Maagd van Antwerpen''
In 1846 Vinck debuted at the
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
of Antwerp with his work ''Joseph with the wife of Putifar''. The painting was subsequently exhibited in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in the United States after which it disappeared without a trace. The artist lost as a result the money that a buyer had already offered for the work. Vinck subsequently traveled with a fellow painter to Paris where he copied old masters in the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
. After his return to Antwerp in 1852, he participated in the
Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
. He made it through the pre-selection, but lost out to
Ferdinand Pauwels Wilhelm Ferdinand Pauwels ( ˆpÊŒu̯əls 13 April 1830, Ekeren – 26 March 1904, Dresden) was a Belgian history painter who lived and worked in Germany. Life From 1842 to 1850, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), under Gu ...
who won first prize. His father's employer generously offered to fund Vinck so that he could accompany the winner Pauwels to Italy. After leaving for Rome, he lingered in Paris where he met
Gustaf Wappers Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers (23 August 18036 December 1874) was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers.Note: The painter is known by one ...
, the leading Belgian Romantic painter who had fled Antwerp after his voluntary resignation from his post as director of the Antwerp Academy. After nine months in Paris, Vinck finally left for Rome. Here he painted a composition called ''The consequences of the seven deadly sins of humanity''. After he sent it to Antwerp the work was met with success and the Belgian government awarded the artist a grant. In 1856 Vinck returned to Antwerp. The painter Florent Mols (1811-1896) invited Vinck to join him on a trip to the Middle East. The painter accepted the invitation and subsequently spent a year travelling in Egypt and Palestine. After his marriage in 1859 Vinck settled in Brussels. Here he remained until 1866.Franz Vinck
at Schoonselhof
Failing to achieve success in the Belgian capital, he returned to his home town. There Vinck got included in the small circle of students and assistants of Henri Leys, at the time the leading Belgian Romantic painter who enjoyed an international reputation. Under the influence of Leys he started to concentrate more on history paintings rather than religious paintings. He became a teacher at the
Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...
and the Academy of Dendermonde. In Dendermonde Franz Courtens was one of his pupils. When in January 1886
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
matriculated at the Antwerp Academy, van Gogh got into trouble with a number of his teachers including Vinck who was the instructor of the drawing class.Steven Naifeh, Gregory White Smith, 'Van Gogh: The Life", Random House Publishing Group, 18 Oct 2011, p. 448-489 In Antwerp, Vinck obtained many official commissions such as that for decorations in the meeting room of the
Antwerp City Hall The City Hall (Dutch: ) of Antwerp, Belgium, stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt ("Great Market Square"). Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, t ...
. He also painted seven
Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...
for Antwerp Cathedral). He further obtained commissions from abroad including for more Stations of the Cross for the Saint-Nicholas Church in
Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
in France and St Cuthbert's, Earls Court in London. The artist earned awards in exhibitions in Brussels, Vienna, London, Lyon and Philadelphia. He died on 3 October 1903 at his home in
Berchem Berchem () is a southern Districts of Antwerp, district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (Dutch language, Dutch for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected ...
.


Work

Vinck is known primarily for his religious and historical paintings. He was also drawn towards the then popular
Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
and created a number of Orientalist paintings inspired by his travels in the Middle East.Franz Vinck, ''Lunch at the foot of the pyramids, Gizeh''
at Christie's
As a painter of history paintings Vinck took his principal direction from Leys. Leys had made a name with his meticulously painted historical scenes recounting major events from Belgium's national history, which were regarded as a key to the country’s national identity.. Vinck produced a number of history paintings that were inspired by important episodes in Beligium’s history such as the ''Crowning of Margaretha of Parma'' (At Rossini on 8 December 2010 in Paris, lot 46). His palette was generally lighter than that of Leys. Like Leys and his teacher
Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans or Jozef Laurent Dyckmans ( Lier, 9 August 1811 – Antwerp, 8 January 1888) was a Belgian painter mainly of genre scenes and portraits whose painstakingly detailed pictures earned him the nickname 'The Belgian Gerar ...
, he also took inspiration from 17th century
genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...
. Some of his scenes set in the past such as ''The Skaters'' (At Christie's on 7 December 2000 in London lot 217) do not represent important historic events but are rather in the nature of genre scenes. Vinck painted a number of Orientalist paintings, clearly inspired by his visit to the Middle East. An example is ''Lunch at the foot of the pyramids, Gizeh'' (At Christie's, 16 July 2003, Paris lot 39). In sharp contrast to the French Orientalist
Théodore Frère Charles-Théodore Frère (21 June 1814, Paris – 24 March 1888) was a French Orientalist painter. His younger brother, Pierre-Édouard, and his nephew and namesake, Charles Edouard Frère, were also painters. Biography Painter of historical ...
for whom a vision of an eternal East, unaffected by modern western concerns, was paramount, Vinck depicted in this composition the meeting between East and West. In the ''Lunch at the foot of the pyramids, Gizeh'' Vinck sets out the principal figures in an almost theatrical way, capturing in strong
chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
the fascination and reservation with which East began to meet West at the end of the 19th century, a time when tourism became a fashionable pursuit for the European and North American middle classes.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinck, Franz 1827 births 1903 deaths Belgian history painters Belgian genre painters Belgian portrait painters Orientalist painters Artists from Antwerp 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian male artists