Baltus Georges-Marie

Georges-Marie Baltus was a Belgian artist born in Kortrijk in 1874 and died in Overijse in 1976. He was a painter, draftsman, graphic artist, designer of carpets and stained-glass windows. Training at the Academy in Brussels under the direction of J. Portaels (1891). Stayed in Paris in 1895, where he visited the Salon Rose-Croix and became friends with Péladan. Settled in Italy in 1896, where he met the German sculptor Adolf Von Hildebrand. Bought a house in Firenze and observed Italian pre-Renaissance and Renaissance painters. Married Sylvia Von Hildebrand (1888-1926) in 1904. Left Italy in 1905 and settled in Glasgow, where he became a teacher at the School of Arts. Realized portraits, figures, nudes, compositions, still lifes and landscapes. His works reflect serenity and exude a mysterious symbolism. He also painted and drew for a while in the style of the Chinese masters, especially landscapes in the 1930s. Became a painting teacher at the Academy in Leuven in 1918, in 1924 at the Art School in Elsene, in 1928 inspector for art education at the Academies. From the press: "His work shows a deep emotional attitude and a purified style. He chose a symbolic painting in which the femme fatale plays a dominant role." In 1939 designed stained glass windows for the town hall in Forest. Married the poet Adrienne Revelard in 1946, twenty years after the death of his first wife. Work in the Museums in Ixelles and Leuven, among others. Mentioned in the Lexicon of West Flemish visual artists V, BAS I, II and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. Source: PIRON.