Fanny Geefs (1807–1883) was a Belgian painter of Irish descent.

Life and work

Born Isabelle Marie Françoise Corr in either

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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 ...

, she studied art as a child. In the 1830s, she studied with

François-Joseph Navez François-Joseph Navez (16 November 1787 in Charleroi – 12 October 1869 in Brussels) was a Belgian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter; known for his portraits and Genre art, genre scenes. Biography As the son of an alderman, in a privileged f ...

. As well as portraiture, she painted religious and historical scenes such as ''Our Lady Appearing to the Oppressed'', which hangs in the Church of the Holy Family in

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

. She married successful sculptor

Guillaume Geefs Guillaume Geefs (10 September 1805 – 19 January 1883), also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological s ...

in 1836. She worked on commissions for the Belgian royal family, including several portraits of Queen

Louise-Marie Louise-Marie or Louise Marie may refer to: People * Louise Marie de la Grange d'Arquien (1634-1728), daughter of Henri de la Grange d'Arquien and Françoise de La Châtre * Louise Marie of the Palatinate (1647-1679), daughter of Edward, Count Pa ...

. Her

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

, ''La Vie d'Une Femme: La Piété, l'Amour et la Douleur'' (''The Life of a Woman: Pity – Love – Sorrow''), was an influence on

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

in her

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...

'' Villette'', set in Brussels. On her death in 1883, the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium ( ; ; , abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Duke of Burgundy, Dukes of Burgundy. In ...

purchased a large collection of her works. She was the sister of Irish engraver

Erin Corr Erin Corr (1803 – August 10, 1862) was an Irish engraver, who was born in Brussels of Irish descent. He spent 10 years engraving the copper-plate for Rubens's ''Descent from the Cross''. In 1833, he was elected into the National Academy of Desi ...

References

* Alexia Creusen, ''CORR, Fanny (1807–1883, épouse GEEFS'', in

Éliane Gubin Éliane Gubin (born in 1942) is a Belgian historian, researcher and professor of political history, political and social history, specializing in the history of women and feminism. In the late 1980s, she initiated the introduction of women's histo ...

, Catherine Jacques, Valérie Piette & Jean Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIX^e et XX^e siècles.'' Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006.

External links

1807 births 1883 deaths Belgian people of Irish descent 19th-century Belgian painters 19th-century Belgian women painters {{Belgium-painter-stub