Jozef Peeters (1895–1960) was a Belgian painter, engraver and graphic artist. In 1913, Jozef Peeters attended for a short time the

Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp () is an art academy located in Antwerp, Belgium. It is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of ...

, but was mainly interested by his own experiments. In 1914 he started painting luminist

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s and

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s. From 1915 to 1917 he turned to symbolistic works inspired by

theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

. In 1918 he meets

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...

, who convinced him to join the

futurist movement Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

. With Edmond Van Dooren and Jan Cockx, Jozef Peeters established the "Modern Art" group in September 1918. The group was able to establish international contacts with the "

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...

" Gallery in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It also organized three art congresses with exhibitions. In 1920, Jozef Peeters presents his first abstract painting. He is considered to be, next to Karel Maes, one of the first Belgian abstract painters. The next year he published his first album with six

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of relief printing in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief printing, relief surface. A design i ...

s. Jozef Peeters also participated in several international art exhibitions among which the International exhibition in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

(1921) and the First exhibition of modern art in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

(1924). En 1924, he worked on the

interior decoration Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior d ...

and designed the

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

for his new house. Jozef Peeters was also committed to art publications. In 1921, in cooperation with

Geert Pijnenburg Geert Pijnenburg (23 August 1896 – 12 July 1980), pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs fr ...

and Michel Seuphor, he published the '' Het Overzicht'' (The Panorama) in Antwerp. In April 1925, Jozef Peeters created the '' De Driehoek'' (The Triangle) magazine, supporting

constructivist art Constructivism is an early twentieth-century art movement founded in 1915 by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko. Abstract and austere, constructivist art aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space. The movement rejected dec ...

. In 1930 Peeters gave up painting and all other artistic activities.

References

''Dictionnaire des Peintres Belges''
*Flor Bex – ''Jozef Peeters (1895–1960)''. Antwerp, Esco Books, 1978. *Willy van den Bussche; Jean F. Buycks (eds). ''Retrospectieve Jozef Peeters 1895–1960. PMMK - Museum voor Moderne Kunst- Oostende.'' Oostende-Antwerpen. PMMK-Snoeck Ducaju & Zoon-Pandora. 1995. Belgian abstract painters Belgian Symbolist painters 20th-century Belgian painters 1895 births 1960 deaths Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni 20th-century Belgian engravers Belgian magazine founders Futurist painters {{Belgium-painter-stub