Gezel Jan

Jan Gezel was a Belgian artist, born in Bierbeek in 1920 and died in Antwerp in 1958. He was a painter, woodcarver and illustrator. He followed his education at the academy in Leuven under the supervision of W. Paerels. He was a teacher at this academy from 1946-1958. He founded his own studio at the National Higher Institute in Antwerp. His style was post-expressionist. He realized (self) portraits, nudes, figures, interiors, still lifes, landscapes and harbor views. In 1957 he won the Piet Van Engelen Prize for a Standing Nude. His oeuvre consists of a hundred paintings and slightly more linocuts. He died in the train on the way to Antwerp on 27 October 1958. Retrospectives of his work were held in 1985 in Vaalbeek, in 1959 in Tongeren and in 1960 in Hasselt. From the press: “His works exude an atmosphere of sadness and poverty” and “His portraits of women remind us of Modigliani. A minimum of attributes, capable of expressing a maximum of humanity: each painting is a life”, and “A constant in his work is the static. All figures sit or stand motionless, staring or dreaming into the distance, or into nothingness, lost in thought. Everything exudes control and an unusual calm.” Jan Gezel is listed in BAS II and Two Centuries of Signatures of Belgian Artists. (Piron)