Watercolour, Franz Van Montfort (1889-1980)

Watercolour of an intimate scene of a young lady, probably the artist’s wife, in front of a porcelaine cup. Signed and dated 1917. Nicely framed.

Size: H 19cm x W 25cm – H 35cm x W 40 cm

Belgian School.

Lit: Drawings by the artist (selfportrait) in the collection of the Royal Fine Arts Museum in Brussels.

Franz Van Montfort was born on 28 January 1889 in Saint-Josse-ten-Node, the son of Alphonse Van Montfort, a well-known artist (Hotel Metropole). As a child, Van Montfort already knew he wanted to become a painter. At age 16,he entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he spent four years under the tutelage of Emile Fabry, Jean Delville, Van Strydonck, Herman Richir, Fernand Khnopff and Constant Montald. In 1910, he travelled to the Netherlands and the following year to Italy, where he was impressed by the works of art in Venice and Florence. In 1913, he married Cécile Milbauer. After World War I, he joined his Brabant contemporaries.

Like Jos Albert and Jean Brusselmans, Van Montfort showed a predilection for domestic scenes: sunlit interiors, women getting ready or doing crafts, a playing child or still lifes. On some works painted on cardboard, Van Montfort used a tachist technique, which was also used by Ferdinand Schirren. In 1918, he participated in an exhibition organised by Galerie Giroux.

His friends included Magritte, Pierre-Louis Flouquet and Pierre Bourgeois. During this period, Van Montfort, like several of his Brabant colleagues, was tempted by the more schematic approach of Cubism. After spending several years at the Academy of Nivelles, while living in Boitsfort among plum, cherry and apple trees, he decided to move to Paris. Van Montfort was happy there, but lived on the brink of poverty. He stayed in Paris for 45 years, making new friends: Naum and Marcel Sluszny, Frans Hellens, Jean Cassou, Charles Vildrac, Isadora Duncan, Wanda Landowska. He refused a contract at the Galerie Bernheim but remained loyal to the Salon des Indépendants for about forty years. He sold works to the French government and to American collectors.

In 1968, Van Montfort returned to Belgium and exhibited at the Galerie Brachot. He died on 2 January 1980, leaving behind a rich body of work from several distinguishable periods.