Jan Frans De Boever (

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 ...

, Belgium, 8 June 1872 – 23 May 1949) was a Belgian

Symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

painter, known for his paintings of voluptuous nude women in morbid contexts. Skeletons, death and eroticism flood his oeuvre. He made illustrations in gouache for

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

's famous ''

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; ) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the ...

'' for the Ghent collector and art patron Léon Speltinckx with 157 gouaches. While he was a successful artist during most of his lifetime, his

megalomania Megalomania is an obsession with power, wealth, fame, and a passion for grand schemes. Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to: Psychology * Grandiose delusions * Narcissistic personality disorder * Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage ...

c character made him a solitary and isolated individual.

Life

Jan Frans De Boever received his training in Ghent at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts under Louis Tytgadt, whose niece he later married. Tytgadt provided him with an introduction to important artistic circles in his city, and he became a recognised celebrity at official exhibitions in Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, and Liège. From 1909 onwards, he modified his style radically, painting women and

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

s in morbid and bizarre settings, with skeletons,

diabolism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious, ...

, subservient men and

eroticism Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

dominating his paintings. These paintings were allegorical and mythological, reflecting romantic imagery and depicting the universal struggle of good against evil. In 1914, he started to illustrate

's "

" for the wealthy art-collector Speltinckx. Up to 1924, he made approximately 157 gouaches for the poems, though only 86 have been recovered. Once he had discovered his style, a form of

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

belonging to the

decadent movement The Decadent movement (from the French language, French ''décadence'', ) was a late 19th-century Art movement, artistic and literary movement, literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artif ...

, he ignored ongoing artistic developments and drew his inspiration from literature, music, and mythology. He was still inspired by patriotism, creating several paintings concerning the World Wars, displaying death and catastrophe in the Symbolist style. His paintings were very successful until 1935 when he suffered a financial crisis. He reduced his prices and continued to paint in the same Symbolist fashion until his death in 1949.

References

* Achille Cavens ''J.F. De Boever et son oeuvre'' in "Les Débats" dd. 1.9.1931 p. 6. * Roger De Buyst ''Jan-Frans De Boever, leven en werk 1872-1949'' Deurle 1984. * Jan Boddaert, Roger De Buyst ''Oeuvrecatalogus Jan Frans De Boever'' Ghent 1993 * Jan Boddaert, Roger De Buyst ''Jean François De Boever, sa vie et son oeuvre'' Ghent 1996. ;Specific

External links

Jan Frans De Boever - Biographywww.jdeboever.be - site on Jan Frans De Boever and his work
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Boever, Jan Frans Symbolist painters Belgian Symbolist painters 1872 births 1949 deaths 20th-century Belgian painters