TOUSSAINT Fernand

THE CATALOGUE

Oil on canvas board: 46 x 37.5 cm / 18.1 x 14.8 ins
Signed lower right

Painter of figures, portraits, nudes, genre scenes, interiors with figures, landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and flowers; watercolourist, draughtsman and lithographer.

Born in a wealthy and cultivated family, where it was understood that his youthful talent should be encouraged from the start, Toussaint became a pupil of Jean-François Portaels at the age of fifteen. Three years later he left for Paris where he completed his training. Toussaint was fascinated by the painters who had specialised in female portraits and their influence showed through his life and works. An artist with aristocratic and refined taste, he also excelled in flower paintings.

In 1929 the great Parisian magazine “l’Illustration” devoted a special issue to the Paris Salon, which awarded Toussaint a gold medal that year for his portrait of a lady. He was dazzled by London and the renowned English masters, including George Romney and Thomas Gainsborough.

Fernand Toussaint’s renown is universal and his work can be found in the most important private collections.

Period:
Brussels 1873 - 1956
Belgian School

Exhibitions:
Antwerp - Brussels

Literature:
P. & V. Berko, "Fernand Toussaint", Knokke 1986.
P. & V. Berko, "19th Century European Virtuoso Painters", Knokke 2011, p. 517.