Hermus Jan

Jan Hermus is a Mechelen artist who was born in 1899 in Mechelen. At the age of 20, Jan Hermus started working as a Mechanical Draftsman at the NMBS (Arsenaal) and it would take several years before Jan Hermus would start to express himself artistically. He married in 1923 and came into the world of painting through his brother-in-law, the painter-sculptor Constant Dhoog (?). Jan Hermus calls himself a self-taught enthusiast. He never had an official teacher. Examples do. “My learning experience was the numerous exhibitions that I went to see, my many visits to artists from Sint-Martens-Latem. I shaped myself by looking closely and studying others.” His numerous paintings and drawings introduce us to the most beautiful corners of the village and city. But we also find portraits and religious themes in his work. For years Jan Hermus worked in silence. It would not be until 1960 that he published his work for the first time. Together with Pierre Godenne and Willy Geets he exhibited in the Lucasgilde. His last major exhibition to date took place in 1978 at the Generale Bankmaatschappij in Mechelen. In between, he took part every year in the NMBS exhibition in Brussels and in international exhibitions in Brussels, Mons and Paris. Always with great success. (www.mechelenblogt.be/2015/08/jan-hermus)