Ferdinand Joseph Bernard Marinus (20 August 1808,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

– 6 July 1890,

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

) was a Belgian painter of landscapes, with

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often c ...

. Over the years, his style evolved from a standard

Neo-Classicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

to a modified form of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

Biography

He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, with the history and portrait painter,

Mattheus Ignatius van Bree Mattheus Ignatius van Bree (Antwerp, 1773 – Antwerp, 1839) was a Belgian Painting, painter. He was one of the founders of the historical school of painting in Belgium and played an important role as a teacher in the development of 19th-century ...

. However, from the beginning, he chose to specialize in landscapes. Following his graduation, he made the traditional study trips throughout Western Europe; focusing on natural settings and largely avoiding visits to museums or other art schools. In 1825, he had his first exhibition in Antwerp; a landscape with a cow and shepherd in the foreground. From 1828, he exhibited annually in Brussels,

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and Antwerp. Later, a career opportunity took him to Namur. A new Academy of Art was founded there in 1835, and teachers were sought. He applied for a position as landscape teacher, was chosen, and soon became Director of the landscape department. He remained in that position until 1882, when he retired and was succeeded by , one of his former students. While there, he trained many notable landscape painters, such as

Géo Bernier Géo Bernier (26 July 1862 – 28 December 1918) was a Belgian painter of landscapes and portraits, but principally of horses. He was also a poster designer. Bernier's artistic talents were discovered early on by Ferdinand Marinus, his dra ...

, Euphrosine Beernaert, , Joseph Quinaux, François Roffiaen, and . Perhaps his most important student was

Félicien Rops Félicien Victor Joseph Rops (; 7 July 1833 – 23 August 1898) was a Belgian artist associated with Symbolism (arts), Symbolism, Decadence, and the Parisian , a member of the Les XX group. He was a painter, illustrator, caricaturist and a proli ...

. He was awarded a silver medal in 1837, by Royal Decree. From 1851 to 1854, he created a series of paintings, depicting local landmarks, for the Namur Provinciegebouw (provincial office building). in 1855, he was a co-founder of the "Société archéologique de Namur". He created another similar set of paintings, from 1871 to 1872, for the Hôtel Bequet. They are currently on display at the castle in

Émines Émines (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of La Bruyère, located in the province of Namur, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal low ...

. Other decorative projects followed at the Hôtel Vercruysse in

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

, and a castle in

Rhisnes Rhisnes (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of La Bruyère, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Formerly the center of its own municipality, the post-1974 fusion of the Belgian municipalities The fusion of ...

. In 2007, his first painting, of the cow and shepherd, was auctioned for €4,000.

Sources

* J. Borgnet, "Tableaux exécutés pour la salle du Conseil provincial de Namur par Ferdinand Marinus", in : ''Annales de la Société archéologique de Namur'', #4, 1855–1856, pp. 1–6 * Willem G. Flippo, ''Lexicon of the Belgian Romantic Painters'', International Art Press, Antwerp, 1981 * A. Dulière, "Ferdinand Marinus" in : Biographie Nationale XLIII, 1983–1984, Brussels, * N. Hostyn, "Fernand Marinus", in : Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek, #14, Brussels, 1992 * Marie-Christine Claes, Pierre-Paul Dupont, Luc Hiernaux & Louis Richardeau, "Ferdinand Marinus, peintre mosan (1808-1890)", in ''De la Meuse à l'Ardenne '', #24, 1997, pp. 17–32. * Luc Hiernaux, "A l'occasion du 200e anniversaire de la naissance de Ferdinand Marinus (1808-1890), peintre de la vallée mosane", in '' De la Meuse à l'Ardenne '', #40, 2008, pp. 151–160

External links

More works by Marinus
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Marinus, Ferdinand 1808 births 1890 deaths Belgian painters Belgian landscape painters Belgian art directors Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni Painters from Antwerp