Jules Boulez (1889 - 1960) - Colette

Painter Jules Boulez (1889 - 1969) belonged to the third group of the Latem School. To that group are counted: Hubert Malfait, Albert Saverys, Jozef De Coene, Arthur Deleu, Albert Claeys, Victor Lorein, Achiel Van Sassenbroeck, Louis Pevernagie and Maurice Schelck.

He was born in Sint-Eloois-Vijve (West Flanders) on 6 May 1889. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent under the guidance of Jan Delvin and Georges Minne. Two fellow students remained good friends: Albert Saverijs and Albert Claeys. He also studied in Paris at the Louvre School. In 1916 he settled in Oudenaarde. Besides painting, he was also an excellent modernist furniture maker. Exhibitions of his work were organized, among others, in Paris, Stockholm, Budapest, Brussels, Tel Aviv, Rotterdam, Dresden and in his own country, among others in Brussels, Ghent and Kortrijk.

Jules Boulez is listed in the Lexicon of West Flemish Visual Artists I, BAS I and Two Centuries of Signatures of Belgian Artists. (Piron)

The painting depicts a young, naked woman in her bedroom. On the back of the canvas, beside the inscription 1943, the name ‘Colette’ is written. Who was Colette? Will we ever know?

Although the expressionist work at first glance is somber in color, there are very interesting (color) details to discover. In the upper left we see, for example, a curtain with subtle blue and purple tones. Below is the washbasin with a striking water feature, almost in gold color. A somewhat surprising accent is the red flush on the woman's face. Behind her is a bed with bars, with the also striking light accents of the sheets. To the left of the bed a simple chair. An element that recurs regularly in his works. The woman herself has a beautiful, powerful build and a self-assured demeanor. Possibly she was a prostitute.

The frame is very sober and, fortunately, over the years has not been replaced. Because Jules Boulez was also a talented furniture designer, the list is indeed more than likely made by himself. The painting is dated on the back 1943, the middle of World War II. This may explain the shortage of the right wood or financial means behind this very simple but authentic frame.