Ickx Pierre

Pierre Ickx was a Belgian artist, born in Kortrijk in 1899 and died in 1970. He was a draftsman, illustrator, wood and lino carver, designer of bookplates and occasionally worked as a painter and watercolourist. He was the son of the photographer Romain Ickx. At a young age he was already fascinated by drawing. In 1915 he moved with his parents to Brussels. He studied law there, but was already working as an illustrator for newspapers and youth magazines. Around 1920 he traveled to Italy. He had a great admiration for the English painter, watercolorist and draftsman Arthur Rackham. Most of his drawings depict naked boy figures, adolescents who were portrayed in a classicistic design and with clean and striking lines. These idealized youth breathe purity, innocence, beauty, tenderness and a certain melancholy. His oeuvre comes across as sensitive and poetic, like a hymn to youth. He also gained fame in Paris. Pierre Ickx settled in the Hageland near Diest. He illustrated collections of poetry by, among others, Jacques Soenens and Jacques Broussier and also illustrated various youth and children's books. He designed bookplates for Marie Gevers, among others, and also received commissions from the United States and Canada. He usually signed PX. He is mentioned in Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)