The River: Bright Spells | MSK Gent
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The River: Bright Spells, ca. 1905

  • canvas, oil paint
  • 65 x 75 cm
  • Inv. 2016-ON

Public Domain

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This painting is part of a series of initially three - later five - canvases that Valerius De Saedeleer painted in 1905 of a River Lys bend in the vicinity of Sint-Martens-Latem, each time seen from the same angle. For this series of works, he chose the simple, overarching title of The River. In essence, he brought in an ode to cyclic nature: a rainy or stormy day, a spring, summer or autumn day, a windy day. Together, the paintings form an inseparable unity. Here, the river is the symbol of the farmer's connection to nature and his dependence on it. As changeable as nature is, so changeable are the moods in a person. On the occasion of the 1905 Ghent Salon, Karel van de Woestijne admired above all 'the expression, not of nature itself, but of what one feels with nature'. The exhibition of the polyptych was the artist's breakthrough in Belgium and aroused interest in his work in Germany and Austria.

Artist

Valerius De Saedeleer RKD
Aalst 1867 - Leupegem 1941 - 1942
painters (artists)AAT

Title The River: Bright Spells
Date ca. 1905
Period 20th century
Location Sint-Martens-Latem TGN
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings signatures (names) bottom right: Valerius De Saedeleer
Collection paintings AAT
Object type oil paintings (visual works) AAT
Inventory number 2016-ON
Acquisition credit bequest
De Blieck, Jozef & Fernand
2016-12-19
Current whereabouts Work currently not on display
Permalink https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/2016-ON
IIIF Manifest https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/108/manifest.json
Art & Architecture Thesaurus 300015636 landscapes AAT
Keywords Iconclass 21D water (one of the four elements) Iconclass
22 natural phenomena Iconclass
22C5 reflection (light in general) Iconclass
25G11 groups of trees Iconclass
25G3 trees Iconclass
25H1 landscapes in the temperate zone Iconclass
25H17 meadow, pasture Iconclass
25H21 water course Iconclass
25H213 river Iconclass
26A clouds Iconclass
26B rain Iconclass
26B4 downpour, rain shower Iconclass
300015636 landscapes AAT
46A222 rural life Iconclass
61D(BELGIUM) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (BELGIUM) Iconclass
61D(LYS) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (LYS) Iconclass
61E(LAETHEM-SAINT-MARTIN) names of cities and villages (LAETHEM-SAINT-MARTIN) Iconclass
School / Style Symbolism (artistic concept) AAT
Sint-Martens-Latem
Symbolisme in Vlaanderen : De eerste generatie kunstenaars in Sint-Martens-Latem (tentoonstelling 's-Hertogenbosch, Het Noordbrabants Museum, 10.07 - 09.10.2022) / Piet Boyens, Helewise Berger. - Zwolle : WBOOKS, 2022 ; 's-Hertogenbosch : Het Noordbrabants Museum, 2022 (p. 41)
onder vrienden : 225 jaar verzamelaars rond het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent (tentoonstelling Gent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 25.11.2023 - 28.04.2024) / Johan De Smet, Frederica Van Dam, Willy Van der Gucht, Manfred Sellink. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2023 ; Gent : De Vrienden van het Museum, 2023 (p. 208, cat. 235 (ill.))
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