Frédéric (Fritz) Van de Kerkhove (1863-1873) - Landscape

This rare impressionist painting is by the Belgian artist Frits van de Kerkhove (1863-1873). This child prodigy died at age 9 and produced only a limited number of paintings. The work for sale belongs to the best pieces within his oeuvre and is sold with the accompanying gilded ornamental frame.

- Artist: Frédéric Jean-Louis van de Kerkhove (1863-1873)
- Medium: Oil on panel
- Dimensions: 10.5 x 21.5 cm (without frame); 27 cm x 37 cm (with frame)
- Style: Impressionism / Barbizon School
- Period: +/- 1873
- Sold with frame

Frédéric Jean Louis Van de Kerkhove, also known as Fritz Van de Kerckhove and as l'Enfant de Bruges (Sint-Kruis, September 4, 1863 – there, August 12, 1873) was a Belgian child-prodigy painter who died young.

He painted from the age of seven, without any formal training, small landscapes that testify to a remarkable maturity with their sketchiness and monochrome brownish tones. He painted on small panels with an old palette knife in colorful and poetical scenes, without the hand of a beginner being evident. They recall paintings from the Barbizon School.

The painting shows his characteristic style: a somber landscape with trees along the water under a cloudy, glowing evening sky. The signature of the painter is visible in the upper left, and in the lower left corner sits the red wax seal that was often applied to his surviving works. The work is housed in a rich, gilded ornamental frame.