Max Broeder
Max (Broeder) (pseudonym of Van Meerbeeck, Victor) was a Belgian artist, born in Turnhout in 1903 and died in Tessenderlo in 1973. He was a painter, draftsman, illustrator and graphic artist (woodcut and lino). He also worked under the pseudonym Maximinus. As a young Cibist, he was busy designing liturgical vignettes and illustrating school books. In 1927 he obtained his diploma as an art teacher and became a teacher of drawing and art history. He then trained at Sint-Lucas in Ghent (1929-1935) under the guidance of Oscar Sinia and Gerard Hermans. From that moment on he actively participated in Ghent's art life. He became friends with Gust De Smet, Oscar Colbrandt and Servaes. In the beginning he was under the influence of G. De Smet, whose coloring he admired and studied. In 1949 he had to settle in Tessenderlo due to a teaching assignment. There he designed ten stations of the cross for various monasteries, abbeys and basilicas. They were the preparation for his other religious work: Pietas, Ecce Homo's, Emmaus goers, etc.
From the press: “B.M. has appropriated a personal style that is moderately expressionistic in its essence. This expressionism is expressed in the over-slim and slender figures he created, which seem to lose their earthly weight in this desirable distortion.” Brother Max painted not only religious subjects, but also portraits, (Kempian) landscapes, flower arrangements and still lifes. About his landscapes: “Brother Max's landscapes are often panoramic, with a wide view of a village or hamlet in the distance and fields around and nearby, with a few small farms and a few trees in the foreground. They are sturdy, constructively conceived views of nature with clearly defined areas of color, often varied in predominantly brown and yellow.” Brother Max illustrated books by G. Walschap and E. Claes. He signed Bro. until about 1955. maximinus, afterwards with b. Max. In 1968 a retrospective was held in the provincial Domain in Hasselt. The Broeder Max foundation was founded in 1993. He is mentioned in BAS I and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)
