Adolphe Wansart, born October 18, 1873, in

Verviers Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...

and died October 3, 1954 (aged 80) in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, was a Belgian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

Adolphe Wansart was the son of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Henri Guillaume Wansart and Henriette Marie Augustine Frazier. He received his education at the Academy of Liège. Recognizing his son's potential, his retired father decided to relocate the family to

to further Adolphe's studies.Henri Kerels (1955) ''Adolphe Wansart''. Antwerpen: De Sikkel. Uit de serie 'Monografieën over Belgische Kunst'. Adolphe became a student of

Jan Frans Portaels Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. He made his debut as a painter at the

Brussels Salon The Brussels Salon (; ) was a periodic exhibition of works by living artists that was held in Brussels between 1811 and 1914. It was primarily aimed at painters, but sculptors, Drawing, draughtsmen, Engraving, engravers and architects were also ...

in 1893, where he won the Godecharle Prize for his drawing "Wandering Souls." Adolphe eventually settled in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

. Starting in 1897, Adolphe Wansart worked in the studio of

Charles Van der Stappen Charles van der Stappen (also Karl van der Stappen; 19 September 1843 – 21 October 1910), was a Belgian sculptor, born in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Life Educated at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels (1859–1868), van der Stappen ...

at the Brussels Academy, where he increasingly focused on sculpture while continuing to draw and paint.Jacques van Lennep (red.) (1990) ''De 19de-eeuwse Belgische beeldhouwkunst''. Brussel: Generale Bank. . p. 294-295. He created busts, memorials,

funerary monument Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, and comm ...

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s, and

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s. Henri Kerels' monograph on Wansart lists a total of 85 works: 68 monuments, compositions, and portraits, 13 medals, and 4 pieces of copperware. Wansart also sculpted several pieces featuring his wife, the artist Lucie Desmet (1873–1943), whom he met at the Brussels Academy. One notable work, a bust of Lucie exhibited in 1925 at the Ghent Triennial Exhibition, was praised by art critic Leo Van Puyvelde. He described Wansart as an artist "whose strong Portrait of his Wife is a magnificent example of the modern feeling for volume with solid surfaces and large lines, without too great a deviation from nature or too strict an attachment to reality." In 1927, Wansart moved with his wife and son, Eric, to

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () or simply Rueil is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department, Île-de-France Regions of France, region. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, while maintaining his studio in

. He primarily designed in France but produced his works in Belgium.Cor Engelen en Mieke Marx (2002) ''Beeldhouwkunst in België vanaf 1830''. Brussel: Algemeen Rijksarchief en Rijksarchief in de provinciën, Studia 90. Volume III, p. 1796-1801. His largest works were created for the city of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. The most notable is the 24-meter-long relief titled "Liège, Arts et Sciences," which adorns the entrance to the Palais des Fêtes, constructed for an international exhibition on water technology in 1939.Zie het artikel Palais des fêtes de la Ville de Liège op de Franstalige Wikipedia. This work is an allegorical representation of Liège, highlighting its industrial and cultural heritage. Another significant piece is a six-meter-high statue of a knight with a shield and sword (1948–50), carved from blue stone. This knight symbolizes the

Burgundian Netherlands The Burgundian Netherlands were those parts of the Low Countries ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy during the Burgundian Age between 1384 and 1482. Within their Burgundian State, which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly t ...

, one of the four historical periods depicted on either side of the Pont des Arches in Liège. Wansart passed away at the age of 80, and an avenue in

was named in his honor. Jonction Nord-Midi.jpg,

North–South connection The North–South connection (; ) is a railway link of national and international importance through central Brussels, Belgium, that connects the major railway stations in the city. It is line 0 (zero) of the Belgian rail network. With 1200 t ...

in Brussels Brussels Expo (50724185807).jpg, Expo Brussels Tombe de Fernand Arbelot.jpg, Grave of Arbelot (Père-Lachaise) De schilder Claude Lyr - Adolphe Wansart - KMSKA (1).jpg, Sculpture of Claude Lyr

References

Resources

* Serge Goyens de Heusch, ''L’impressionnisme et le fauvisme en Belgique'', Anvers/Paris, Fonds Mercator/

Albin Michel Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wansart, Adolphe 1873 births Belgian sculptors Belgian painters Verviers 1954 deaths