Alois De Laet 1895

Alois de laet grew up in the schipperskwartier in antwerp, where his mother ran a café. De laet was initially more interested in music. He took lessons from peter benoit and played the piano in his mother's café. As a painter he was self-taught. In 1900 he was the first to exhibit at the social philosophical movement 'de kapel'. There he met artists such as eugeen van mieghem and henry van de velde. De laet called himself one of the first antwerp socialist artists. After the first world war he achieved success with his landscapes of the kalmhoutse heide and the antwerp polders. He was a member of various art circles, including eenigen, als ik kan, de scalden, la libre esthétique and vie et lumière. This poetic work illustrates the radicality of his impressionistic work. Artist: alois de laet - unsigned, but given the provenance absolutely by de laet - with certificate from galerie arriere-garde. Medium: oil on panel. Dimensions: 36x28 and 23x15cm. Dating: circa 1895. Condition: fine. Nicely framed, but frame is slightly damaged here and there.