L Ernout Jean-Claude

Jean-Claude L’Ernout was a Belgian painter, born in Mouscron in 1939 and passed away there in 2016. A self-taught artist, he worked in a highly atypical style that hovered between surrealism and symbolism, where woman, man, and love formed the triangle of the eternal life cycle. His main source of inspiration was the woman, whom he portrayed in an idealized way. His works breathe eroticism and symbolism and were often executed using the glazing technique. He received numerous international awards but never wished to follow artistic fashions. His work, described by his lifelong friend and exhibition curator Raymond Bommerez as “endonaturism” or “Love Art” (a study of human behavior in the light of love), compels the viewer to an intimate introspection of the self. His paintings can be found, among others, in the collection of the city of Mouscron (La femme au silence bleu). He is mentioned in the Lexicon of West Flemish visual artists VII. (Piron, BT)