Verheyden Jan

Jan Verheyden was a Belgian artist, born in Puurs in 1923 and died in Brussels in 2008. He was a draftsman, illustrator and painter. He followed his education at the Academies in Antwerp (1938) and in Ghent, under the supervision of Jos Verdegem (1941). He studied lithography at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and met F. Léger (1951). In 1952 he undertook, together with Henry de Cocker, a study trip to the Netherlands, France and Italy. He exhibited for the first time individually in the gallery La Sirène in Brussels in 1952. In 1956 he married the graphic artist Geneviève Masoin. He was a publicity teacher at Sint-Lukas in Brussels (1970), a lithography teacher at the Higher State School for Visual Arts in Anderlecht (1974-1984). He found his inspiration mainly in the gestures and postures of the female nude, but also draws figures, cityscapes and rural scenes. From the press: “For J.V. drawing is the gesture of the lover. Caressing the skin. He does not touch the woman's soul. He draws the primal type of woman and falls in love with her lines. Timeless beauty.” Jan Verheyden was an honorary citizen of the city of Puurs. His works are still regularly exhibited in various cultural centers and galleries, such as 't Blikveld and gallery Hangar 311 in Mechelen. (Piron, BT)