Jean Stevo (28 May 1914 – 7 November 1974) 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 engraver.

Biography

Born 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 ...

in 1914, Stevo became active in European artistic life with his first exhibition in 1936.Stevo 1971, p. 13 Among his friends and associates may be counted figures such as

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic ...

, Félix Labisse,

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René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgium, Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature ...

, Paul Delvaux, and

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. Jean Cassou, the Director of the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris commented on Stevo's work: "In his varied activities, Jean Stevo has devoted himself to a lyrical effusion, to the fantastic of the imagination, to the shadows of human destiny. the clear structure of his work clings to the page and, at the same time, animates it like a poem always vibrant with life." Jean Stevo was invited to participate in the Venice Biennal (Biennale di Venezia), both in 1954 and 1962. In 1969, at the invitation of John Hersey, he had a solo show at Yale University (April 27- May 27), followed by another show in 1972 at the Athena gallery (New Haven, Ct). A retrospective of Stevo'art work took place in 1975 under the auspices of the Maison française at Columbia University. The paintings, drawings, and graphic works of Jean Stevo have been exhibited throughout the world. He was asked to exhibit at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Biennale of Engraving at Lugano (1960), and the Biennale delle Regioni at Ancona (1968.) Stevo received wide critical acclaim, from the Prize in Engraving (Art Jeune, 1942) to the Critics Mendal of "La Nuova Critica Europea" (1969.) His works now figure in the principal museums and collections of Europe, including the Cabinet des Estampes of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

and

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

in Amsterdam, the National Museum of Cracow, Poland, the Royal Belgian Academy in Brussels, and the Harvard Art Center. Stevo is also known for his poetry, short stories, and other writings. In 1973 the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique awarded Jean Stevo the Léopold Rosy Prize for his book on

Michel de Ghelderode Michel de Ghelderode (born Adémar Adolphe Louis Martens; 3 April 1898 – 1 April 1962) was an avant-garde Demographics of Belgium, Belgian dramatist, from Flanders, who spoke and wrote in French. His works often dealt with the extremes of huma ...

Selected works

*''La Chanson Grise'', Paris, 1966 *''La Nuit de Hollande'', Paris, *''America-America'', Paris,1969 (illustrations by Marie-Rose Mabille) *''Haute Solitude'' *''Lettres de Nulle Part'', 1971 (poetry & etchings) *''James Ensor'', Editions Germinal, 1947 *'' Marie Howet, Monographies de l'Art Belge'', 1954 *''Paul Maas, Monographies de l'Art Belge'', 1961 *''Hommage à James Ensor'', Brepols, 1960 *''Office des Ténèbres pour

'', 1972 *Cinematography: Le simple bonheur d' Edgard Tytgat, 1953 (with Steppé & Lovrix)

References

* Emmanuel Bénézit, ''Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs''. Oxford University Press, 1999 *

, Lettres à Jean Stevo, 1935–38, Getty RI Library Catalog * Philippe Roberts-Jones, ''Dictionnaire des peintres belges du XIVème siècle à nos jours'', Bruxelles, La renaissance du livre, 1995 * , ''L'art vivant en Belgique'', Bruxelles, 1972, p. 192 * A. van Wiermeersch, ''Contemporary Painters and Sculptors in Belgium'', Ghent, 1973, pp. 228–229 * , ''La gravure contemporaine'', 1971/Hedendaagse Graveerkunst in België, Provinciale Bibliotheek van Limburg * ''Arto: Dictionnaire des arts plastiques en Belgique'' * , ''Dictionnaire des artistes plasticiens en Belgique des XXIème et XXème siècles'' * Thierry Denoël, ''Le petit dictionnaire des Belges'', Bruxelles: Editions Le Cri,1993, p. 600 * Columbia Dictionary of European Literature, ed. Jean-Albert Bédé, Columbia University Press, 1980 * Robert Frickx & Raymond Trousson, française de Belgique, Poésie, Bruxelles: Académie Royale de Langue et de française de Belgique *Stevo, Jean (1971). ''Jean Stevo''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevo, Jean 1914 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Belgian painters