Georges Van der Straeten

GEORGES VAN DER STRAETEN (Belgium, 1856–1941).
“Bust of a Young Man.”
Patinated bronze on a marble pedestal
Signed and stamped.
Measurements: 19.5 x 10 x 8 cm.

Georges Van der Straeten initially worked as a lawyer; beginning in 1882, he studied under the sculptors Jef Lambeaux and Gustave Kasteleyn (1848–1900). In 1883, he left Ghent and moved to Paris, where he exhibited at the salons of the Société des Artistes Français from 1885 to 1912. Among his friends were the Belgian painters Jan van Beers and Rik Wouters. He received several awards, including a silver medal at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair; in 1903, he was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

As an artist of the Belle Époque, he stood at the turning point between Neoclassicism and Art Nouveau. His works bear witness to his great technical skill and the high quality of his craftsmanship; his favorite materials were bronze, chryselephantine, and terracotta. He created numerous sculptures and busts of graceful and seductive, fantastical figures of young Parisian women in the “endearing style of the 18th-century sculptors.”