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Houtsnedes kopen van de Belgische kunstenaar Gerard Baksteen

Baksteen Gerard

Gerard Baksteen was a Belgian/Dutch artist who was born in 1887 in Rotterdam and who died in 1976 in Turnhout. He was a graphic artist, painter, watercolorist, draftsman, pastelist, wood engraver, designer, illustrator and wood carver. He was a son of Dirk Baksteen and Jansje van Heiningen, and grew up in a family of ten children. He was the brother of painter Dirk Baksteen. In 1912 he met the artist Jacob Smits in Belgium and he started working in his studio in the Belgian town of Mol. Through the lessons of Smits, Baksteen broadened his artistic vision and broke free from the academic scholasticism. Baksteen persuaded his brother Dirk to come and work in Mol and meet Smits. He painted still lifes, portraits, landscapes and floral arrangements. He was also a gifted woodcarver and a very gifted watercolourist. He was a modest man who lived a secluded life in his studio. He received his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam and the National Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He made woodcuts and designed the bindings for Guido Gezelle's De Berechtinge and Antoon Coolen's Christmas in the Campine in 1937 for Nijgh and Van Ditmar. He also illustrated Prutske's Storybook written by Stijn Streuvels. He was a member of the Guild of Saint Luke and the Kunstkring Moderne Kunst in Antwerp. He was also a member of the Kempische Writers Association for which he painted a portrait of one of the members every year. (RKD, Wikipedia, Piron)