In 1920, Frits Van den Berghe lived for a short time with Gustave De Smet in Blaricum, a village east of Amsterdam. The house that De Smet and his wife lived in was called ‘Malpertuus’. The name Malpertuus, or Malpertuis, was already known in the Middle Ages, in particular as the castle of Reynard the Fox. Later, a great many inns received the name. The word quickly became a synonym for a welcoming place of refuge and it is therefore very appropriate for the house in which De Smet lived as an exile during WWI. In this picture, we see Gustave and Gusta De Smet by a table which forms the centre of a symmetrically built up composition. The colour is subordinate to the arrangement of the forms and is accentuated here and there with meticulously applied coloured accents that enliven the sombre, night like atmosphere. Van den Berghe did not paint this work using heavy paint materials, as usual, but with a thin tempera, so that the drawn forms are more visible. The work illustrates his evolution towards constructive expressionism in which the influence of French cubism is more obviously apparent.
| Artist |
Frits Van den Berghe
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | Maleperduys |
| Date | 1920 |
| Period | 20th century |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | signature and year bottom right: FVBerghe 1920 |
| Collection | paintings AAT |
| Object type | tempera paintings AAT |
| Inventory number | 2009-C |
| Acquisition credit |
long-term loan
Vlaamse Gemeenschap Brussels 2009 |
| Current whereabouts | Work on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/2009-C |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/5823/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus |
300189808
figures (representations)
AAT
300124520 interior views AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
22C8
shadow
Iconclass
22C9 darkness Iconclass 24B moon as celestial body Iconclass 24B6 moonlight Iconclass 25G plants; vegetation Iconclass 31A235 sitting figure Iconclass 31A71 male sex; man Iconclass 31A72 female sex; woman Iconclass 31AA235 sitting figure - AA - female human figure Iconclass 31D14 adult man Iconclass 31D15 adult woman Iconclass 41A housing Iconclass 41A1 civic architecture; edifices; dwellings Iconclass 41A16 rural housing, e.g. country-house, villa, cottage Iconclass 41A2 interior of the house Iconclass 41A33 window Iconclass 41A421 curtains Iconclass 41A711 table Iconclass 41A721 chairs (furniture forms) Iconclass 41A731 case furniture Iconclass 41A771 container of metal: bucket, can, canister, drum, tin, etc. Iconclass 41A773 container of ceramics: jar, jug, pot, vase Iconclass 41A774 container of glass: bottle, jar, vase Iconclass 41B214 chimney Iconclass 41B2141 chimney-piece, mantelpiece Iconclass 41C2542 cooker Iconclass 41C71 alcoholic drinks Iconclass 41D221(HAT) head-gear: hat Iconclass 46C125 bicycle Iconclass 48B2 artist in non-work situation Iconclass 48C5142 picture within picture Iconclass 49L8 inscription Iconclass 61B historical persons (portraits and scenes from the life) Iconclass 61B2 historical persons Iconclass 61B2(GUSTAVE DE SMET) historical person (GUSTAVE DE SMET) Iconclass 61BB2 historical persons - BB - woman Iconclass 61BB2(GUSTA DE SMET) historical person (GUSTA DE SMET) - BB - woman Iconclass 61D(GOOI) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (GOOI) Iconclass 61D(NETHERLANDS) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (names of cities and villages excepted) (NETHERLANDS) Iconclass 61E(BLARICUM) names of cities and villages (BLARICUM) Iconclass 61F(MALPERTUUS) names of historical buildings, sites, streets, etc. (MALPERTUUS) Iconclass 83(Reynard the Fox) (scenes from) specific works of literature (Reynard the Fox) Iconclass |
| School / Style |
Expressionist (style)
AAT
Modernist AAT |
| Vlaams expressionisme in Europese context 1900-1930 (tentoonstelling Gent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 10 maart - 10 juni 1990) / Robert Hoozee, Piet Boyens, Inge Henneman, Helke Lauwaert. - Gent : Snoeck-Ducaju & Zoon, 1990 ; Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 1990 (cat. 87 (ill.)) |
| Retrospectieve Frits Van den Berghe 1883-1939 (tentoonstelling Oostende, Museum voor Moderne Kunst, 16 oktober 1999 - 13 februari 2000) / Piet Boyens, Gilles Marquenie, Willy Van Den Bussche. - Oostende : Provinciaal Museum voor Moderne Kunst (Oostende), 1999 (cat. 40) |
| Frits Van den Berghe 1883-1939 : Met een volledig geïllustreerde kritische en gedocumenteerde catalogus van de schilderijen, gouaches, tekeningen en illustraties / Piet Boyens, Patrick Derom, Gilles Marquenie. - Antwerpen : Pandora, 1999 (p. 385, nr. 220 (ill.)) |
| onder vrienden : 225 jaar verzamelaars rond het Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent (tentoonstelling Gent, Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 25.11.2023 - 28.04.2024) / Johan De Smet, Frederica Van Dam, Willy Van der Gucht, Manfred Sellink. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2023 ; Gent : De Vrienden van het Museum, 2023 (p. 220, cat. 250 (ill.)) |
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