Mols Robert

Robert Mols was a Belgian artist, born in Antwerp in 1848 and died in Antwerp in 1903. He was educated at the Academy in Antwerp. In 1866 he left for Paris and Barbizon and worked there under the direction of J.F. Millet, A. Vollon and J. Dupre. In the beginning he painted a number of heavy, gloomy landscapes, including in Barbizon, but around 1872 his palette clarified and numerous seascapes were created. he found the inspiration for his marines and harbor views on the French coast, where he stayed annually, in Rotterdam and of course also in Antwerp. Usually these works were very precise and faithful representations of reality, without any fantasy or poetry and bathed in a light, translucent, gray atmosphere. As a change, he sometimes also painted landscapes, panoramic views of Venice, Antwerp and Paris, flower arrangements and still lifes. He traveled a lot, including to the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany and France. Together with P. Van Engelen he painted the Congodiorama for the World Exhibition in Antwerp in 1894. Work by Robert Mols can be found in the Museums in Antwerp and Tervuren. He is mentioned in BAS I and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)