Stientjes Staf

Staf Stientjes (pseudonym of D'Haluin, Gustave) was a Belgian painter born in Waregem in 1883 and died in Tiegem in 1974. He was educated at the Academies in Waregem and Kortrijk under the supervision of C. Vanhoutte and Em. Viérin (1896-1906). He worked, among others, with V. De Saedeleer and thus underwent his influence. He also received advice and support from E. Claus. During the First World War he came into contact with Utrillo and Vlaminck. He exhibited in 1913 in Kortrijk, in 1931 in Waregem and 1936 in Roeselare. He made (South Flemish) landscapes in the line of De Saedeleer, but also painted portraits. From the press: “S.S. is pre-eminently the visual interpreter of the hilly landscape of the Flemish Ardennes. Attached to the undulating beauty and wisdom of this beautiful region, with its blue, dark and sometimes menacing clouds, he has appropriately portrayed his emotional involvement with his environment on canvas. Man is usually remarkably present in the form of silhouettes throughout his oeuvre. Moreover, he manages to process the heat and light of the sun in his winter landscapes. (...) Gifted with a rock-solid drawing talent, S.S. managed to express himself in a humorous way in his self-portraits and the painting of typical figures.' (F. De B., 2000). Staf Stientjes occasionally added a surrealist touch to his later work. He was also active as a decorator, stage actor and poet. He is extensively mentioned in the National Biographical Dictionary, volume X (1983). He is also mentioned in Visual arts in and around Waregem (1971), in the Lexicon of the West Flemish visual artists iii, in Artists and galleries, fourth edition (2000) and in Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)