1881 -1947 · Ghent, Laethem-Saint-Martin and Belgium

Rural spirituality, incisive drawing and deliberately stylized figures place Gustave Van de Woestyne between Flemish symbolism and expressionism.

Gustave Van de Woestyne was born in Ghent in 1881. Brother of the poet Karel Van de Woestyne, he grew up in an environment where literature, mysticism and visual arts interact closely. After a stint at the Academy of Ghent, he settled in 1900 in Laethem-Saint-Martin, a village in the Lys where a first group of artists gathered around Valerius De Saedeleer, George Minne and Albijn Van den Abeele. Peasant life, Flemish primitives and spiritual research gave his first works their gravity. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, sometimes enlarged eyes or hands and refused smooth naturalism. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, Flemish primitives and spiritual research gave his first works their gravity. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, Flemish primitives and spiritual research gave his first works their gravity. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, Flemish primitives and spiritual research gave his first works their gravity. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, sometimes enlarged eyes or hands and refused smooth naturalism. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, Flemish primitives and spiritual research gave his first works their gravity. Van de Woestyne simplified volumes, Flemish primitives and spiritual research gave his first works their gravity. Van de Woestyne strangeness carries an inner truth. During the First World War, he stayed in England with his family and met other exiled Belgian artists. After 1919, he taught and worked in particular in Waregem, Mechelen and Uccle. His art opens up to more geometric shapes and a more frank color without losing its meditative dimension. The Portrait of Valerius De Saedeleer represents his companion de Laethem with calm frontality: face, beard and gaze express less a social pose than an attentive conscience. Died in Uccle in 1947, Van de Woestyne occupies a singular place between Flemish tradition, symbolism, expressionism and modern religious art. There selection "Gustave Van de Woestyne" notably compares The Portrait of Valerius De Saedeleer. His reading favors details.

Van de Woestyne distorts to better reveal: an enlarged eye, a heavy hand or a frontal face make visible the spiritual tension hidden beneath the appearance.