Jozef Cantré (26 December 1890 – 29 August 1957) was a Belgian sculptor and illustrator. He was one of the main artists in the development of the movement of

Flemish Expressionism Flemish Expressionism, also referred to as Belgian Expressionism, was one of the dominant art styles in Flanders during the interbellum. Influenced by artists like James Ensor and the early works of Vincent van Gogh, it was a distinct contemporary ...

Biography

Jozef Cantré was born in

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 ...

in 1890, four years after his brother Jan Frans. His father was a house painter. He studied art at the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent) The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent (, KASK) is an art school that is one of the oldest art schools in Belgium. It is a part of the Hogeschool Gent, a Belgium University college. History The Academy was founded in 1748 as a school for drawing ...

, together with

Frans Masereel Frans Masereel (31 July 1889 – 3 January 1972) was a Belgium, Belgian painter and graphic artist who worked mainly in France. He is known especially for his woodcuts which focused on political and social issues, such as war and capitalism. He ...

; his teachers included

Jean Delvin Jean-Joseph Delvin (1853 – 1922) was a Belgian painter who specialized in scenes with animals (primarily horses). Life Delvin was born in Ghent. He attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, where he studied under , and worked in the st ...

and Felix Metdepenningen. He was politically active in a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

youth movement and later created the "Rode Jeugd" ("Red Youth"). He studied Literature at the Vlaamsche Hoogeschool from 1916 on, together with the poet Richard Minne. Already in March 1918 he was appointed lector in drawing. His role in this university, created by the German occupier, led to his conviction in 1920, when he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. This sentence was removed in 1929. On 27 October 1918, when it became clear that Germany would lose the war, Cantré fled the country. He then lived in

Blaricum Blaricum () is a municipality and village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Gooiland and part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (Metropoolregio Amsterdam). It is known for ...

until 1921 and then in

Oisterwijk Oisterwijk () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands. Population centres *Haaren, North Brabant, Haaren *Heukelom, North Brabant, Heukelom *Moergestel *Oisterwijk Topography ''Dutch top ...

, both in the Netherlands, where he was joined by

Frits Van den Berghe Frits Van den Berghe (3 April 1883 – 23 September 1939) was a Belgian Expressionism, expressionist and Surrealism, surrealist Painting, painter and illustrator. Biography He was born in Ghent, where his father was the Librarian at the Univers ...

and

Gustave de Smet Gustave Franciscus De Smet (21 January 1877 – 8 October 1943) was a Belgian painter. Together with Constant Permeke and Frits Van den Berghe, he was one of the founders of Flemish Expressionism. His younger brother, , also became a painter. ...

. In 1930 he returned to Belgium where he moved to

Sint-Martens-Latem Sint-Martens-Latem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Deurle and Sint-Martens-Latem proper. In 2021, Sint-Martens-Latem had a total population of 8,285. The ...

, which would become the center of the Flemish art during the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. By 1931 he lived in the nearby

Astene Astene is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) in the municipality of Deinze in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The village is located along the Leie River and about south-west of Ghent. History The village was first menti ...

, where Hubert Malfait became his neighbour. Afterwards he moved to Ghent. Between 1941 and 1946 he was a teacher at the

La Cambre L'École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre (ENSAV), more known as La Cambre, is a renowned visual arts school founded by Henry van de Velde in Brussels in 1926. It was founded as the ''Institut supérieur des Arts décoratifs' ...

Art Institute. He was married to Martha Vandaele; they had one son, Walter Cantré.

Art

His early art is influenced by Georges Minne and

Constantin Meunier Constantin Meunier (; 12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a Belgian Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and mi ...

. Later influences include

fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

and

German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

, before he became one of the founders of the so-called

Flemish expressionism Flemish Expressionism, also referred to as Belgian Expressionism, was one of the dominant art styles in Flanders during the interbellum. Influenced by artists like James Ensor and the early works of Vincent van Gogh, it was a distinct contemporary ...

. He was one of the main avant-garde illustrators in Belgium between

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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a member of ''De Vijf'' ("The Five") together with his brother

Jan Frans Cantré Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

, Joris Minne,

and Henri Van Straeten. Most of his graphic work consisted of engravings and woodcuts, as stand-alone works, ex-libris, or book illustrations. As a sculptor, he worked in wood, clay and bronze. Together with

and

he is also considered one of the pioneers of the

, and together with

Oscar Jespers Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer J ...

the main sculptor in the movement.

Bibliography

*1918: Maurice Roelants, "De kom der loutering" *1918: illustrations, including the title, for the magazine "De Regenboog" *1928-: illustrations for "Variétés", magazine created by Paul-Gustave Van Hecke *1928:

Georges Eekhoud Georges Eekhoud (27 May 1854 – 29 May 1927) was a Belgian novelist of Flemish descent, but writing in French. Eekhoud was a regionalist best known for his ability to represent scenes from rural and urban daily life. He tended to portray th ...

, "Les sorciers de Borght" *1929: Maurits de Doncker, "Gedoofder vuren as" *1930: Marnix van Gavere, "Gedichten" *1933:

Willem Elsschot Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder (7 May 1882 – 31 May 1960) was a Belgian writer and poet who wrote under the pseudonym Willem Elsschot (). One of the most prominent Flemish authors, his most famous work, ''Cheese'' (1933) is the most translated F ...

, "Kaas" *1937: 7 illustrations for "De boer die sterft" by

Karel Van de Woestijne Carolus Petrus Eduardus Maria "Karel" van de Woestijne (; Ghent, 10 March 1878 – Zwijnaarde, 24 August 1929) was a Flanders, Flemish writer and brother of the painter Gustave van de Woestijne. He went to highschool at the ''Koninklijk Athenaeum' ...

*1944:

Marcel Arland Marcel Arland (5 July 1899, Varennes-sur-Amance, Haute-Marne – 12 January 1986, Haute-Marne) was a French novelist, literary critic, and journalist. Biography With René Crevel and Roger Vitrac he founded the dadaist newspaper ''Aventu ...

, "Cinq contes", 6 illustrations

Major sculptures

*1922: double portrait of Frits Van den Berghe en Gustave de Smet *The poet

*Monument for

Edward Anseele Edward Anseele (26 July 1856 – 18 February 1938) was a Belgian socialist politician. Edward Anseele became active in the early Belgian socialist movement. Anseele attended the Royal Athenaeum in Ghent until the age of 17. Career Edward Anseele ...

in Ghent *1952: Relief in the facade of the Brussels-Congress railway station

Exposition

*1921: exposition together with Frits Van den Berghe in "Sélection" *1925 (March–April):

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, "Ausstellung Belgischer Kunst" *1927 (June): exposition of 7 Flemish artists at La Centaure in Brussels *1927 (August–September):

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Museum, "Europäische Kunst der Gegenwart", including 10 Belgian artists *1927 (September):

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, Museum, "L'Art Belge Contemporain" *1928 (May–June): Paris, Musée du Jeu de Paume, "L'Art Belge depuis l'Impressionisme" *1932: Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus, solo exhibition of his work between 1908 and 1932 *1933 (April–May): exposition together with Frits Van den Berghe in the

Vooruit Vooruit ( , ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art centre of the Ghent-based labour movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theatre, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts and other cultural events ...

in Ghent *1942: foundation of the Museum van Latem en de Leiestreek, which includes works by Cantré *1957 (December) - 1958 (January):

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, Museum of New Religious Art: solo exposition *1959:

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 ...

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 ...

: solo exposition of the graphic work of Cantré *1967 (July–August):

: woodcuts by "De Vijf" *1975 (September–November):

Deinze Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Lei ...

, retrospective of his work and that of his brother Jan Frans *2017 (September) - 2018 (January): Deinze, museum, retrospective of his work

Biography

Art

Bibliography

Major sculptures

Exposition

Notes

Further reading