Karel Heymans (1899-1974) - Boten op de Schelde

Karel Heymans (1899-1974)

Oil painting on panel 45x25 cm (60x40 cm including frame)

Karel Heymans was a Belgian artist born in 1899 in Hamme and died in Antwerp in 1974. He was a painter and draftsman. Self-taught, but he still received advice and support from his brother Casimir Heymans, who had debuted for him. He settled in Antwerp. He started as an art collector before being captivated by painting in 1930. He became friends with, among others, M. Melsen and J. Van Puyenbroeck. His works included portraits, figures, village and city scenes, harbor, coast, and urban views, characters, interiors, flowers, landscapes, and forest scenes. According to the press: 'Alternating depending on the moment’s preference, he explores Antwerp markets, village fairs, folk festivals, processions, parades, backstreets, lingering with people at work, the urban hustle, or streets with their mosaic of weathered facades. The people, or rather the folk, are almost always present,' and 'The subjects of his works originate on Flemish soil, seemingly imbued with light.' He exhibited, among others, at the Second December Salon of the National Association of Art Painters and Sculptors of Belgium in Brussels in 1939, at the Quadrennial Salon in Ghent in 1954, at Galerie Leys in Brussels in 1958, at the Henri De Braekeleer Hall in Antwerp in 1960, and several times in the company of his brother at the Martinushoeve in Zandvliet during the 1970s. He is mentioned in two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (PIRON)