Constant Permeke
1886–1952 · Belgian painter and sculptor, leading figure of Flemish Expressionism
Constant Permeke (Antwerp, 1886 – Ostend, 1952) was a Belgian painter and sculptor and the leading figure of Flemish Expressionism. He was part of the artists' colony at Sint-Martens-Latem, alongside Gustave De Smet, Frits Van den Berghe, Albert Servaes and Gustave Van de Woestijne, and together they built an expressionist movement independent of the German one.
His family moved to Ostend in 1892. He studied at the Bruges academy from 1903 to 1906 and then at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. After military service he returned to Sint-Martens-Latem, where he worked with a heavy brushstroke and blunt forms. Influenced by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and James Ensor, he focused on coastal scenes and on fishermen and sailors.
During the First World War he was wounded near Antwerp and evacuated to Britain, where he painted more colourful landscapes. After the war his work returned to the hard life of workers, and in 1929 he settled in Jabbeke, where his subject shifted from the sea to the land and the farmer. From 1937 he also worked as a sculptor, seeking to isolate the human figure in monumental forms.
Under the Nazi occupation his work was declared degenerate and he was barred from working. After the war he resumed painting, and a large retrospective was shown in Paris in 1947–1948. His studio in Jabbeke is now a museum devoted to his work, and his legacy remains tied to Flemish Expressionism.
Works (1)
Where to see the work
- Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp Antwerp · 1
Curiosities
A banknote portrait
In 1997 the federal government of Belgium reproduced his portrait and one of his works on the 1,000 Belgian franc note. It was an unusual honour for a painter of his era and shows the place he held in the country's memory. The chosen painting was part of the selection that circulated with the banknote.