Joseph Germain Geefs or Jozef Germain Geefs (23 December 1808 – 9 October 1885) was a Belgian sculptor. Also his six brothers Guillaume Geefs,

Aloys Geefs Alois ( Latinized ''Aloysius'') is an Old Occitan form of the name Louis. Modern variants include ''Aloïs'' (French), ''Aloys'' (German), ''Alois'' ( Czech), ''Alojz'' ( Slovak, Slovenian), ''Alojzy'' (Polish), ''Aloísio'' ( Portuguese, Spanis ...

Jean Geefs Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, Théodore Geefs,

Charles Geefs Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

and

Alexandre Geefs Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name " Alexandre (disambiguation)" * Idálio ...

were sculptors.

Life

Joseph Geefs was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, where he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, going on to École des Beaux-Arts de Paris and winning the Prix de Rome in 1836. In 1841, he became a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in sculpture and anatomy at the Academy in Antwerp (his pupils included Bart van Hove and Jef Lambeaux), rising to be its director in 1876. He was made an officer of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

in 1859 by King Leopold I. Geefs married a daughter of the architect

Lodewijk Roelandt Lodewijk () is the Dutch name for Louis. In specific it may refer to: Given name Literature * Lodewijk Hartog van Banda (1916–2006), Dutch comic strip writer * Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht Boon, (1912-1979) Flemish writer * Lodewijk van Deyssel ...

and probably produced the portrait medallion on his gravestone. Geefs died in Antwerp, aged 76, and was buried in

Berchem Berchem () is a southern Districts of Antwerp, district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (Dutch language, Dutch for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected ...

Honours

* 1881: Grand Officer in the

. * Knight Commander of the Order of the White Falcon. * Officer in the Order of the Oak Crown. * Officer in the Order of the Zähringer Lion. * Knight in the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa.

Selected works

Belgium

Antwerp

* ''Indian rider attacked by two jaguars'' (1869) and ''Hunter with booty'', in Antwerp Zoo * Equestrian statue of Leopold I of Belgium, in Leopoldstraat (

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

)

Brussels

* ''L'ange du Mal (The Angel of Evil)'',

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...

Mechelen

* Stations of the cross (1867) and images (1867–1871) in Saints Peter and Paul Church

Netherlands

Heiligerlee

* Monument to Adolf van Nassau (1873), to a design by Johannes Hinderikus Egenberger

Rotterdam

* Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp (1867), Coolsingel

Tilburg

* Portrait medallion of William II of the Netherlands on an obelisk (1874)

References

External links

Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geefs 1808 births 1885 deaths École des Beaux-Arts alumni 19th-century Belgian sculptors 19th-century Belgian male artists Knights of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa People from Antwerp