Frans Masereel (1889-1972) - vers le large

beautiful limited-edition woodcut.
when framing I forgot which number it was
very nicely framed (aluminium) behind glass with a mat.
dimensions of the woodcut: 15.5 cm x 11.5 cm
will be carefully sent with tracking

Frans Masereel was a Belgian artist born in 1889 in Blankenberge and died in 1972 in Avignon/France. He was a wood engraver, painter, draftsman and illustrator. Trained at the Academy in Ghent. Became friends with J. De Bruycker and J. Cantré. Settled in Paris in 1911 and fled as a pacifist militant to Switzerland. Visited Russia in 1935, 1936 and 1956 and China in 1958. He excelled as a draughtsman, but the scope and power of his oeuvre as a wood engraver outshine the versatility of his talents. From the press: “His first woodcuts were indictments against the violence flooding the world, protests against the oppression of the common man by political, economic and financial magnates, calls for peace and social justice, sensitive renditions of joy and love as well. He expressed these feelings in concise compositions with strong black-and-white contrasts, where vivid realism is paired with penetrating expressionist accents.” Often his series of woodcuts were published in album form such as La Ville, L’Oeuvre, La Sirène, e.g. He also designed bas-reliefs, vases in ceramics, mosaics, decors, costumes and painted, during World War II when he lived in Avignon and Nice, various portraits. He was a lecturer at the Institute of Decorative Arts in Saarbrücken from 1947 to 1951. Works among others in the Print Rooms in Antwerp and Brussels, in the Museums of Ghent and Liège. Mentioned in the Lexicon of West Flemish Visual Artists II, BAS I and Two Centuries of Signatures of Belgian Artists. (PIRON)