Léon-Henri-Marie Frédéric (1856-1940) was a Belgian Symbolist painter.
His earliest paintings joined Christian mysticism with pantheistic themes, while his later works increasingly reflected social concerns.
Much of his work also shows the influence of fifteenth and sixteenth century Flemish art and Renaissance painting styles.
His father was a prosperous jeweler.
In 1871, he was apprenticed to the architect and decorative painter, Charle-Albert and began taking night courses at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.
In 1874, he found a position in the workshop of Jean-François Portaels.
The following year, he and several other young art students engaged a private studio where they could paint from live, nude models.
From 1876-1878, he entered the Prix de Rome, but was not successful.
Finally, his father financed a trip for studies in Italy from 1878 to 1879.
There, he travelled to Naples, Rome, Florence and Venice.
His favorite painters were Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio.
On his return from Italy, he made his debut at the Brussels Salon, where he came under the influence of Jules Bastien-Lepage, and became a member of the artist group L'Essor.
In 1883, he moved to Vresse-sur-Semois, in the Belgian Ardennes, and traveled extensively to England, Germany and the Netherlands.
He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle (1889).
The young Alexandre Benois was a great admirer of his works and, in 1898, arranged for several to be purchased by Princess Maria Tenisheva, for an exhibition in St. Petersburg.
After his marriage, he moved to his final home in Schaerbeek in 1899, and continued to travel and exhibit his work in international fairs, winning awards in the United States and Germany and another gold medal at the Exposition Universelle (1900).
In 1904, he was appointed a member of the Académie Royale and, in 1929, was created a Baron and a Knight of the Order of Leopold by King Albert I.
His works may be seen at the Museum of Ixelles, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent and the Musée d'Orsay.
The Four Seasons is currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Chalks Sellers and The Stream are currently displayed at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels.
A street in Schaerbeek has been named after him. | Source: © Wikipedia
Léon Frédéric | The Four Seasons | Summer, 1894 | Philadelphia Museum of Art
Léon Frédéric | The Four Seasons | Fall, 1894 | Philadelphia Museum of Art
Léon Frédéric | The Four Seasons | Spring, 1893 | Philadelphia Museum of Art
Léon Frédéric | The Four Seasons | Winter, 1894 | Philadelphia Museum of Art
Léon Frédéric (1856-1940) è stato un pittore Belga d'impostazione simbolista.
I suoi primi quadri si ispirarono al misticismo cristiano, al panteismo ed alle tematiche naturalistiche, mentre nelle opere successive Frédéric si volse sempre più verso i temi sociali.
Nel 1882, Léon Frédéric scoprì al Salon di Bruxelles le opere del pittore naturalista francese Jules Bastien-Lepage.
I suoi lavori divennero allora una bizzarra fusione di un naturalismo di maniera, ingenuo e lussureggiante come le opere del Quattrocento italiano e dei primitivi fiamminghi, spesso eseguiti sotto forma di trittici.
I quadri di Frédéric mostrano infatti la netta influenza dello stile rinascimentale italiano così come del '500 e del '600 fiammingo.
Due suoi lavori, Le quattro stagioni e La sorgente della vita sono attualmente esposte nel Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Ma in un'altra opera più tardiva (1887), Les Âges du paysan: les garçons, l'autore di Marchands de craie narra con commovente poesia i visi dei bambini nella loro timidezza appena impaurita; uno ha la testa grossa, l'espressione stupida, ottusa; un altro storce gli occhi orribilmente, ma, malgrado ciò, tutti sono comunque splendidi.
È questa la poesia della povertà, della rassegnazione, del dovere silenziosamente accettato, del coraggio di vivere.
Alcuni quadri, poi, assumono la forma di allegorie esoteriche, come l'Intérieur d'atelier del 1882.
Questi lavori sono sufficienti a classificare Léon Frédéric come uno dei maestri del simbolismo belga allora in voga.
Esse inoltre preannunciano certi temi surrealisti.
Nel 1889 gli fu assegnata una medaglia d'oro all'Exposition Universelle di Parigi.
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