Joseph Henri François Van Lerius (23 December 1823, Boom,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) 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 Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

– 29 February 1876,

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

) was a Belgian painter in the Romantic-Historical style.

Life

Van Lerius was born in Boom, Antwerp, on 23 November 1823. In 1838, he was already an apprentice draftsman at the

Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels ( ''(ArBA-EsA)''; ) is an art school in Brussels, Belgium, founded in 1711. Starting from modest beginnings in a single room in Brussels Town Hall, Brussels' Town Hall, it has since 1876 been operat ...

in Brussels. From 1839 to 1844, he was a student of Gustave Wappers. He took a study trip through Germany and Italy in 1852. Two years later, he was appointed to a position as a painting instructor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp. His notable students included

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema ( ; born Lourens Alma Tadema, ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom, becoming the last officially recognised Denization, denizen in 1873. Born in ...

, Aloïs Boudry, Gerard Portielje, Henri Van Dyck and Piet Verhaert. In 1861, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold and in 1869 became a Knight in the Order of St.Michael. In 1875, he was diagnosed with

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. The following year, he died in Mechelen, where he had gone for treatment.

Work

Van Lerius painted mythological and biblical scenes as well as portraits and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

pictures. Much of his work is didactic in nature. In 1852

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

bought his painting "Premier Né" (First Born), depicting a young couple with a baby. It is still on display at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. Perhaps his best-known work is "

Lady Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

", which was shown at the Antwerp Triennial Salon in 1870. It was purchased by London art dealer Henry Graves. Other paintings found their way to San Francisco and St. Petersburg. His "Cinderella and Her Sisters" oil painting was gifted to the Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library in 1909 by Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Fullerton.February 9, 1909 (page 1 of 8). (1909, Feb 09). ''The Scioto Gazette (1900-1930)'' The painting remains on display in the reference room at the Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library in

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

to this day.

References

Sources

* ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

'', Vol.IX. * A. Brokken, I. Machielsen and B. Fornari, ''Femme fatale tussen liefde & dood'' (exhibition catalog), Sint-Niklaas, 1992.

External links

More works by Van Lerius
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Lerius, Jozef 1823 births 1876 deaths Belgian portrait painters 19th-century Belgian painters Belgian male painters 19th-century Belgian male artists Painters from Antwerp People from Boom, Belgium Painters from Antwerp Province

Life

Work

See also

References

Sources

External links