Beschreibung:

Oil on canvas - Sig. - 79 x 57 cm - Exhibition labels on the reverse
Exhibition "Gustave De Smet" Kunstzaal Ars, Ghent 1938 "Het zelfportret in de Hedendaagse Belgische Schilderkunst" Genootschap voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp 1946, nr. 9 ill. "Gustave De Smet" Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels 1950, nr. 73 "Gustave De Smet" Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht 1951, nr. 37 "Gustave De Smet. Retrospectieve tentoonstelling" KMSK, Antwerp 1961, nr. 235 "Gustave De Smet" Oude Ursulakerk, Warmenhuizen 1978, nr. 43 "Gustave De Smet - Léon De Smet" Sint-Audomarus-kerk, Vinkem-Beauvoorde 1987, nr. 32 ill. "Latemse Konfrontatie" Artiestenzolder, Sint-Martens-Latem 1988, nr. 10 ill. "Retrospectieve Gustave De Smet" PMMK, Ostend 1989, nr. 143 ill. "Schilders van het Leieland" Museum Gust. De Smet, Deurle 1991, nr. 55 "Gust. De Smet. De maat der dingen" Musea Deurle-Deinze-Machelen 2003, nr. 19 Literature "Gustave De Smet of de hartstocht voor de stilte" in 'Beeldende Kunst', Paul Haesaerts, Amsterdam/Antwerpen 1939, pl. I ill. "Gustave De Smet. Sa vie et son oeuvre" P.-G. Van Hecke & Emile Langui, Bruxelles 1945, nr. 581, pl. 96 ill. "Gust De Smet. De mensch en zijn werk" Emile Langui, Manteau, Brussel, 1945, nr. 585 "Honderd zelfportretten" Antoon De Pesseroey, Arcade, Brussels 1976, p. 90-91 ill. "Gust. De Smet. Kroniek, Kunsthistorische analyse" Piet Boyens, Antwerp 1989, nr. 1050 ill. Provenance coll. J. Raes-Ziane, Sint-Martens-Latem coll. P. Raes, Ohain coll. Antoon De Pesseroey, Sint-Martens-Latem PAINTER WITH THE HEART OF A POET At the time, this "Self-portrait" or "Walk in the snow" by Gustave de Smet belonged to Antoon de Pesseroey, honorary mayor of Deurle. With residents such as Gustave De Smet Jenny Montigny and Cyriel Buysse, the village was a known haven for artistic talent. De Pesseroey engaged himself as a collector, critic and friend to the artists in his village and the surrounding area. One of his most important legacies is the publication in 1976 of the monograph "A Hundred Self-Portraits", in which the most important Belgian artists of his time are immortalized. The poet Jozef De Belder makes a marvelous description of the self-portrait of Gustave de Smet "He has been walking for a long time on that gray winter day and drawing in the cold outside. But now the early twilight compels him to return to his home in the small village. The evening has come, softly obscuring the bucolic distances along the river, and here and there, as he emerges from the snow-covered swamps, a small farm reveals itself as a poor shelter from the harshness of winter. It won't be long before the peaceful and vast land of the Lys is completely lost in freezing darkness. At home his wife awaits him with dinner prepared, with the dog and the warm kindness of the room heated by fire and lit by lamplight. Now is the time to take off the heavy overcoat and the thick scarf for the day. His folder with sketches lies waiting on the table until after dinner, when it will be opened again and the day's drawings will be carefully examined. […] Tomorrow he will step again across the fields in search of those landscapes that touch his heart and eye and that will offer him the lines, tones and colors he needs to furnish the collection of images stored in his susceptible poet's heart." ("A Hundred Self-Portraits " Antoon De Pesseroey, Brussels 1976, p. 90)