1882 -1916 · Mechelen, Brussels and Brabant Fauvism

Light color, quick touch and domestic happiness make Rik Wouters a singular figure of Belgian Fauvism.

Hendrik Emil Wouters, known as Rik Wouters, was born in Mechelen in 1882 and died in Amsterdam in 1916. He first learned sculpture in his father's furniture workshop, then studied at the academies of Mechelen and Brussels. In 1904, he met Hélène Duerinckx, nicknamed Nel, who became his wife, his model and the emotional center of his work. Installed in Watermael then Boitsfort, the couple led a modest life that Wouters transformed into a color laboratory. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel reading, ironing, dreaming or crossing the house. He sculpted moving figures and painted Nel Afternoon in Amsterdam condenses this research: the domestic space opens up with color, the objects remain familiar and yet each surface vibrates. From 1912, his contract with the Giroux gallery brought recognition and stability; trips to Paris and exhibitions strengthened his reputation among Brabant colorists. Mobilized in 1914, interned in the Netherlands, he fell seriously ill and died at thirty-three. His very short career combined painting, drawing and sculpture with rare coherence. His very short career combines painting, drawing and sculpture with rare coherence. Where French Fauvism often exalted the Mediterranean landscape, Wouters found modern intensity in a bedroom, a window and the daily presence of Nel. The "Rik" selection Wouters notably compares Afternoon in Amsterdam. His reading favors composition.

At Wouters, domestic life is never small: a department, a dress and a few pieces of furniture are enough to circulate all the color of the world.