Xavier Mellery (9 August 1845,

Laken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...

– 4 February 1921,

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 ...

) was a Belgian

symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

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 ...

. The son of a gardener at the Royal Palace of Laeken, Mellery initially worked with the painter-decorator Charles Albert. He attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels from 1860 to 1867, one of his professors being Jean-François Portaels. Mellery won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

and traveled to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

where he studied paintings from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. His works include ''The Rondo of the Hours''. Mellery designed the statues of all 48 historical professions in the Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavel garden in Brussels, though they were executed by different sculptors. Each pillar has a unique design, as does each section of fence. File:0 Bruxelles - Petit Sablon - Couvreur en tuiles.JPG, ''The

Slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools used The various tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucible-cast steel, and has a lea ...

'' by

Albert Desenfans Constant Albrecht (Albert) Desenfans (Genappe, 24 January 1845 – Braine-l'Alleud, 12 March 1938) was a Belgian sculptor. Life Desenfans studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels as a pupil of Eugène Simonis. Most of the work ...

File:0 Bruxelles - Petit Sablon - Horloger-Serrurier.JPG, ''The

Clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly t ...

'' by Jean Cuypers File:0 Bruxelles - Petit Sablon - Etainier-Plombier.JPG, ''The

Plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

'' by Cuypers

Honours

1885: Knight in the Order of Leopold.Handelsblad (Het) 04-11-1885

References

External links

Links to his paintings
available on-line
Artcyclopedia
1845 births 1921 deaths Belgian Symbolist painters Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners 19th-century Belgian painters Belgian male painters 19th-century Belgian male artists 20th-century Belgian painters Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Brussels alumni 20th-century Belgian male artists {{Belgium-painter-stub