Maurice Boel (1913-1998) - Het Stoeltje

An abstract, expressionist work by a model on a chair in the artist’s studio.

Gouache on paper.
Signed bottom right: Boel.
Dated: 49.

Maurice Boel underwent during his academy years the influence of Alfred Bastien. But after his military service he resolutely pursued the path of expressionism in the manner of Constant Permeke.

Maurice Boel held his first solo exhibition in 1938 in the gallery ‘Studio’ in Ostend. James Ensor, who was known for his cynical attitude toward young talents, insisted on writing the foreword and praised him lavishly.

He studied in 1950 and 1951 at the Free Academy ‘La Grande Chaumière’ in Paris. He sold several works there to a gallery. During this stay he met artists such as Hartung, Zadkine, Braque and Fouyiata. This was an revelation for him and gave rise to a thorough renewal process in his style. He left figuration and gradually evolved toward a geometric, lyrical abstraction while retaining color and rhythm. He freed himself from the influence of Permeke, the ‘local color’ and the anecdotal from his previous works. He gradually found his own style. Yet he later created neo-figurative works again, in particular the depiction of landscapes in Devon, his favorite vacation destination.

In 1959 he became the first laureate of the Dutch Talens Prize when it was extended to Belgium. From then on, one exhibition after another followed.

During that period he moved again to Spain and took a language course in Cadiz. He went there to live with his wife and, besides his etchings and paintings, made Spanish little poems. Later he discovered the seaside town of Salou, drew among others ‘Fantastic Riders’ (1957) and gave lectures there on the evolution of art. Back in Belgium, he painted wall decorations with abstract verticals in the Ostend Hotel (1956). He dared to venture into the third dimension and designed, on behalf of the City of Ostend, several installations, one of which was selected for Expo ’58.

In 1960 he left for Italy and had a joint exhibition in Florence with Anne Dubois. Thanks to a grant from the Ministry of Public Education he could work in Rome at the Academia Belgica in 1961. There he gave a joint exhibition in July 1961 with Camille De Taye and Jeanne Rucquoi. Later in the same year he exhibited his Italian works in the Kursaal of Ostend.

In this decade the tight and cool verticalism in his paintings evolved into broader bands that were arranged more ingeniously. Under the influence of Italian light he changed his style and moved away from the stricter forms of the 1950s. He integrated richer and more subtle color shades into his abstract compositions, reflected in gold and silver tones in the background.

More and more he evolved toward lyrical abstraction. His creations become ‘mental landscapes’, visible only to the artist. For the viewer, this is pure abstract art.

His works have a well-considered structure with rhythmic vertical lines and irregular fields. They are contemplative and filled with emotion. The color of these verticals contrasts with a gloomier background, in which sometimes a more colorful brushstroke appears. He freely gives vent to his sense of color and harmonious, contrasting forms, but without slipping into a rational austerity or cold abstraction. He creates a play of colors and shadows, or rather, colored edges that give a certain relief to the painting. He achieves the same effect with narrow gaps between his verticals. Those characteristic vertical lines of unequal heights, that fall over the canvas like smoothed folds, are compared to curtain paintings or narrow organ pipes.

Maurice Boel was part of a new generation of painters such as Mendelson, Kurt Lewy or Mig Quinet, who revived abstract painting after a previous generation of abstract painters, such as Peeters, Joostens, Baugniet, Servranckx or Donas, had distanced themselves from it.

In 1988 the Museum of Fine Arts in Ostend organized a retrospective of his work. In February 2010 another retrospective opened in the Venetian Galleries in Ostend.

Condition: the work is in good condition and is framed under glass, and you get it for free with it.

This artwork will be carefully packed for shipment.
If despite this careful packaging glass breakage and any resultant damage occur, this is at your own risk.
Pickup is also possible.