Fernand Gyselings

FERNAND GYSELINGS (Belgium, active in the first half of the 20th century).
"400e anniversaire Royale Antique Gilde St. Sébastien 1534-1934, Renaix". Belgium, 1934.
Relief in patinated bronze on ebonized wood base.
Signed.
Model documented in the collection of the Musée de Renaix.
Measurements: 40 x 28 cm.

Relief in patinated bronze signed by Fernand Gyselings, realized in 1934 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Royale Antique Gilde St. Sébastien de Renaix, founded in 1534. The composition represents an archer in full gesture of tension, with the raised arm holding the bow and the body bent in a posture of great dynamism.

The work stands out for its synthetic and expressive language, close to the Art Deco sensibility of the interwar period. The background is resolved by means of architectural planes and textured surfaces, while the figure concentrates all the visual force of the relief through an energetic modeling, with marked volumes and great gestural intensity.

The theme links the piece to the tradition of the Flemish archers' guilds, historical associations of civic, ceremonial and local character. The documentation provided identifies this model as the work of Fernand Gyselings and points to the existence of a copy in the collection of the Musée de Renaix, which reinforces its historical interest.