De Smeth Henri

Henri De Smeth was a Belgian painter, born in Borgerhout in 1865 and died in Brasschaat in 1940. He was a student of A. De Lathouwer and L. Hendrix. He was friends with R. Looymans. In the beginning he painted almost exclusively interiors with figures, realistic in conception and with a special attention to detail. After a stay in Zeeland, around 1890, he began to attach more importance to the effect of light. He still dealt with the same subjects, but his coloring brightened under the influence of the play of light. In addition to interiors, he now also painted landscapes, in which the interaction of color and light also predominated. From 1882 he was a member of ALs Ik Kan, in 1891 he was one of the co-founders of lesson XIII. In 1897, together with R. Looymans, he won first prize in the competition for literary illumination, with illustrations for the work of H. Conscience. His artistic career ended abruptly in 1908 when he became blind. Work by Henri De Smeth can be found in the museums in Brussels, Antwerp and Tournai. He is mentioned in BAS I and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)