At the end of the 1920s, Frits Van den Berghe left his pure expressionist style for a visual language inspired by surrealism and Max Ernst's écriture automatique. Even earlier, Van den Berghe had a passion for microscopic research. This penetration into the microstructure of matter was also decisive for the style of his late works. People and Bodies shows a bizarre world in which monstrosities and human body parts grow organically out of the paint matter. The dream has become a nightmare in which unconscious forces loom up like menacing monsters. The painting illustrates Van den Berghe's increasingly pessimistic view of human existence.
| Artist |
Frits Van den Berghe
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | People and Bodies |
| Date | ca. 1929 |
| Period | 20th century |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signatures (names) bottom right: FVBerghe |
| Collection | paintings AAT |
| Object type | oil paintings (visual works) AAT |
| Inventory number | 1992-K |
| Acquisition credit |
gift
Mees-Desplenter, Lydie Ghent 1992 |
| Current whereabouts | Work currently not on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1992-K |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/3934/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus | 300056485 fantastic art AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
25F9
mis-shapen animals; monsters
Iconclass
3 Human Being, Man in General Iconclass 31A22 parts of the human body (skeleton excepted) Iconclass 31A221 head (human) Iconclass 31A2211 face Iconclass 31A2212 eyes Iconclass 31A2213 ears Iconclass 31A2214 mouth Iconclass 31A22621 hair Iconclass 31A41 disabilities, deformations Iconclass 31A42 human beings (legendary or not) of abnormal proportions, size, strength, etc. Iconclass 31A511111 distortion Iconclass 31A71 male sex; man Iconclass 31A72 female sex; woman Iconclass 31AA511111 distortion - AA - (for) women Iconclass 31D14 adult man Iconclass 31D15 adult woman Iconclass 32A6 physiognomy Iconclass 49D3 planimetry, geometry Iconclass 49D365 centre of a circle Iconclass 49D38 other planimetric figures not meant or mentioned above Iconclass 49D4 stereometry, solid geometry Iconclass 49D46 cylinder ~ stereometry Iconclass |
| School / Style |
Expressionist (style)
AAT
Modernist AAT |
| Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Catalogus schilderkunst ; Deel I: 14de - 18de eeuw ; Deel II: 19de - 20ste eeuw / Robert Hoozee, Johan De Smet, Bruno Fornari, Ruth Monteyne. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2007 (dl. II, p. 66-67 (ill.)) |
|
Do you have any suggestions, questions or information about this work? Write us, collectie.msk@stad.gent |