Van Dyck Albert

Albert Van Dyck was a Belgian artist, born in Turnhout in 1902 and died in Antwerp in 1951. He was a painter, draftsman, watercolorist, etcher and lithographer. He was educated at the academy in Turnhout (1914-1918), at the academy in Antwerp under the supervision of F. Gogo, E. De Jans, J. Van Der Veken, J. De Vriendt and E. Siberdt (1918-1920 ) and at the Higher Institute in Antwerp, under the supervision of Is. Opsomer, A. Ciamberlani, J. De Bruycker (1921-1925). He made his debut as a molder and engraver. In the beginning he painted and drew with an expressionist design, but soon evolved into animism with meditative work that exudes tenderness and tranquility. He preferred landscapes, domestic scenes, portraits of women and children, figures and still lifes. He was one of the most important representatives of animism in Belgium. To break free from Smits' influence, he founded his own studio in Kasterlee and in 1930 he built a house with a studio in Schilde, on the edge of the Kempen. He drew and painted his house behind cornfields and under cloudy skies. He preferred to paint ordinary people and youth, whose inner and meditative qualities he wanted to bring to him in a poetic atmosphere. Albert Van Dyck was a member of Kunst van Heden. In 1932 he founded a free Academy in Antwerp, where, among others, J. Vaerten followed his education. In 1997, the Albert Van Dyck Museum was inaugurated in the town hall in Schilder. His work can be found in the museums in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent. It is also mentioned in BAS I and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)