Fernand KHNOPFF the caress 1896 Belgium Belgian
Fernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff (September 12, 1858 in Grembergen near Dendermonde, Belgium - November 12, 1921 in Brussels, Belgium) was a Belgian symbolist painter. In 1889 Khnopff laid his first contacts with England where he would stay end exhibit regularly in the future. British artists such as Hunt, Watts, Rossetti, Brown and Burne-Jones would become friends[1]. Since 1895 Khnopff worked as a correspondent for the British art journal "The Studio". Until the outbreak of World War I in 1914 Khnopff would be responsible for the rubric "Studio-Talks-Brussels" in which he reported about the artistic evolutions in Belgium and continental Europe. In March 1898 Khnopff presented a selection of 21 works on the first exhibition of the Vienna Secession. In Vienna his work was received with massive admiration[2]. The works he presented at the Secession would form a major influence on the oeuvre of Gustav Klimt[3]. From 1900 onwards Khnopff is engaged in the design of his new home and studio in Brussels (demolished). The house was inspired by the Vienna Secession and more in particular by the architecture of Joseph Maria Olbrich. To the sober architecture and decoration Khnopff added a highly symbolic, spatial and decorative concept that turned his home into a "Temple of the self". The house functioned as a shrine in which the genius of the painter could flourish. His motto "On a que soi" (=One has but oneself) was inscribed above the entrance door, in and his studio he painted in the middle of golden circle inscribed on the white mosaic floor[4]. This almost theatrical setting was undoubtedly a reflection of Khnopffs passion for theatre and opera. Khnopff's first designs for the theatre date from 1903 when he sketched the sets for a production of Georges Rodenbach's play "Le Mirage" at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. This production was directed by the famous Max Reinhardt, and the sets evoking the gloomy streets of the mysterious city of Bruges
Size: 5669px × 3451px
Location: Museum
Photo credit: © Peter Horree / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1896, art, artis, artist, arts, artwork, belgian, belgium, brussels, bruxelles, caress, civilization, cultural, culture, depiction, drawing, exhibition, fernand, fine, gallery, historic, history, image, khnopff, master, masterpiece, museum, oil, painter, painting, picture, piece, portrayal
