Georges Vantongerloo (24 November 1886,
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 ...
– 5 October 1965,
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 ...
) was a Belgian sculptor, painter, designer of furniture and buildings, and founding member of the
De Stijl
De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...
group.
Life
From 1905 to 1909 Vantongerloo studied
Fine Art
In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
at the
Fine Art Academies in Antwerp and Brussels. Conscripted into
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he was wounded in a gas attack and discharged from the army in 1914. In 1916 he met
Theo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg (; born Christian Emil Marie Küpper; 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He married three times.
Personal life
Theo van Do ...
, and the following year he was a co-signator of the first manifesto of the
De Stijl
De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...
group.
Vantongerloo's articles, published in the periodical ''De Stijl'' between September 1918 and October 1920 and known as "Réflexions", compare art with nature and address the aims of the arts and the artist.
His pamphlet ''L'Art et Son Avenir'' was published in 1924 and includes his essay "Unité", which examines vibrations and the colour spectrum of light.
In 1927 Vantongerloo moved to Paris and began a correspondence with the Belgian Prime Minister,
Henri Jaspar
Henri Jaspar (28 July 1870 – 15 February 1939) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1926 to 1931.
He was born in Schaerbeek and trained as a lawyer. Jaspar represented Liège as a Catholic ...
, in relation to the design of a bridge over the
Scheldt
The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...
at
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 ...
. In 1930 he joined the
Cercle et Carré
Cercle is French for ''circle''. It can refer to:
* Circle (administrative division)
* Cercle (French colonial), an administrative unit of the French Overseas Empire
* Cercle (Mali), the Malian administrative unit
** The specific Cercles of Mal ...
group in Paris, and a year later he was a founding member of
Abstraction-Création
Abstraction-Création was a loose association of artists formed in Paris in 1931 to counteract the influence of the Surrealist group led by André Breton.
Founders Theo van Doesburg, Auguste Herbin, Jean Hélion and Georges Vantongerloo starte ...
.
From 1955 Vantongerloo had a long friendship with the Swedish sculptor
Gert Marcus.
Legacy
After Vantongerloo died in 1965,
Max Bill
Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.
Early life and education
Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmit ...
, a close friend of his, began advocating for him. Bill's widow, the art historian Angela Thomas Schmid, set up the ''Max Bill Georges Vantongerloo Foundation'' to support the legacy of both artists. On the art market, the estate has been represented by
Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth is a Swiss contemporary and modern art gallery.
History
Hauser & Wirth was founded in 1992 in Zurich by Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth, and Ursula Hauser, who were joined in 2000 by co-president Marc Payot. In 2020, Ewan Venters was ap ...
since 2019.
[Alex Greenberger (January 16, 2019)]
Hauser & Wirth Now Reps Foundation for Estates of Max Bill and Georges Vantongerloo
''ARTnews
''ARTnews'' is an American art magazine, based in New York City. It covers visual arts from ancient to contemporary times. It is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. ''ARTnews'' has a readership of 180,000 in 124 co ...
''.
References
Further reading
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External links
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1886 births
1965 deaths
Belgian abstract painters
De Stijl
Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni
20th-century Belgian painters
20th-century Belgian sculptors
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Brussels alumni
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