Paul Daxhelet - Watutsi-danser in actie - 1950s

Original advertising poster based on an aquarelle by Paul Daxhelet that vividly captures an African dancer of the Watutsi tribe in full action. The dance was performed in Kigali (then Belgian Congo). On the reverse side advertising for the products of the nv Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutique (R.I.T.) from Genval in Walloon Belgium.
Condition A: Fresh colors. Image in overall good condition.
Design: Paul Daxhelet (signed in the plate at the lower right)
Shipping: in secure envelope with Bpost track & trace.

Paul Daxhelet (1905-1993)

Paul Daxhelet was a multi-talented and diverse Belgian painter of landscapes, portraits and genre scenes. Daxhelet first exhibited as an engraver. However, he was also a skilled draughtsman and painted in both oils and watercolors.
Paul Daxhelet was a Belgian painter and printmaker. Daxhelet was a pupil of François Maréchal, Jean Ochs and Emile Berchmans at the Academy of Liège. Daxhelet undertook many trips around the world, including to the Belgian Congo (from 1951), India, South America, Polynesia and Senegal.
His picturesque travel paintings, drawings and water colours are colourful. Daxhelet had a smooth figurative style which separated him from common expressionism.
Later, his paintings took on a surrealist quality that was highly regarded. Work of Daxhelet can be seen in the Museums of Bruxelles and Liège.

Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques (R.I.T.) was founded in Genval, Belgium, as a penicillin factory in 1945 by Dr Pieter De Somer, who later became the founder of the Rega Institute for Medical Research and rector of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Leuven, Belgium). The company started its vaccine research and production in the 1950's. In 1968 the company was acquired by Smith, Kline & French and since 2000 renamed GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (Source: Wikipedia).