Albert Baertsoen (1866-1922): Le Quai des Ménétriers à Bruges, étude IV, huile sur toile, début 20ème siècle

89 x 51,5 cm

This painting is a well-developed study for the large canvas 'De Speelmansrei in Brugge, septemberlucht' ('Le Quai des Ménétriers à Bruges, ciel de septembre'), which Albert Baertsoen presented to the public in 1905. Shortly afterwards it was acquired by the current Groeninge Museum in Bruges, where it is still located.

At a young age, Baertsoen was fascinated by Bruges, the faded medieval trading metropolis. He saw with regret how the old, patinated cities in Flanders had to give way to modernity, but in Bruges he still found the authentic past. In cityscapes such as these, Baertsoen expressed the elusive sadness he experienced at the end and transition. Art critics soon picked up on this characteristic feature of his art and increasingly associated it with the theme of la ville morte, a concept he was able to popularize at the end of the 19th century together with the successful author Georges Rodenbach. The Speelmansrei in Bruges is one of Baertsoen's works with a strong symbolic slant. The reflections in the rippleless canal water naturally invite reflections on appearance and reality. The unique framing with a high horizon also emphasizes the water surface.

A few years after the death of Albert Baertsoen, this study was donated by his son Jean A. Baertsoen to the Ghent lawyer Albert Ceuterick. He was one of the directors of the textile company Baertsoen & Buysse and was very close to the Baertsoen family. Shortly before his death in 1922, Albert Baertsoen had appointed him as executor of his will. Ceuterick mentions this work in a letter dated January 26, 1930 and kept in the Ghent university library, addressed to the Ghent art critic Frédéric de Smet. In it he talks about the oeuvre of his late friend Baertsoen, and he notes, among other things, that he (Ceuterick) "... possède en outre une esquisse, très poussée, d'un quai à Bruges, non signée ni datée. Cette oeuvre m'a été offer par Madame Baertsoen, mère, et M. Jean Baertsoen, en ma qualité d'exécuteur testamentaire". Based on this study, Albert Baertsoen made an etching that bears the number E.1905/03 in the catalogue raisonné of his oeuvre (link).

With a certificate from Jean A. Baertsoen, son of the artist (January 1927).

We would like to thank Prof. dr. René Vermeir for this description and additional information (link).

Provenance:

- Ex-collection Albert Ceuterick, Ghent.

Ref.:

 - René Vermeir, Catalogue raisonné Albert Baertsoen, P.1905/08 (link).