Portrait of François-Auguste Gevaert, 1908

François Auguste Gevaert (1828-1908) built an impressive musical career. He studied at the Ghent Conservatory, where he obtained the first prize for piano in 1844. In 1847, Gevaert won the Belgian Prize of Rome. After touring Italy, Spain and Germany, he moved to Paris where he became choir director of the Grand Opéra. After the French War of 1870, he returned to Belgium and in 1871 became director of the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where he remained active until his death in 1908. He was court chapel master and was elevated to the peerage. On the reverse side of this plaque, Charles Samuel depicted the funerary monument designed by Paul De Vigne for Mrs Gevaert. It is located in the city cemetery in Brussels. The laurel wreath and palm branch refer to Gevaert's great merits.