Georges Van de Voorde

GEORGES VAN DE VOORDE (Courtrai, Belgium, 1878 - Anderlecht, Belgium, 1970).
Pitcher "Escondite", ca. 1900.
Silver-plated pewter.
Signed on the back.
Weight: 1.790 g.
Bibliography: Philippe DAHHAN, Étains 1900, 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Époque, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, reproduced p. 381, fig. 1171.
Measurements: 23 x 12 x 12 cm.

Pitcher characteristic of the Art Nouveau style, in the form of a baluster, profusely decorated in high relief. The design is fantastic: a sea dragon emerges from a lake to form the side handle, while a cherub is seated on the front. The piece is completed with wave ornaments and vegetal motifs.

Georges Van de Voorde began his artistic training at the Van Dale school of craftsmanship, complementing it with modeling and sculpture classes at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Kortrijk. After settling in Brussels as a sculptor and continuing his training at the Academy, he had a crucial seven-year period of collaboration with Victor Rousseau, with whom he contributed to monumental works such as the Fragnée Bridge in Liège and the Arc de Triomphe du Cinquantenaire in Brussels. Encouraged by Rousseau to become independent, Van de Voorde developed a prolific career creating busts, reliefs and statues, including numerous war monuments, as well as devoting himself to smaller formats such as medals and exquisite sculptures in wood and ivory.