Léon Devos

LÉON DEVOS (Belgium, 1897 - 1974).
"Nu assis".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 90 x 70 cm; 114 x 92 x 7 cm.

Feminine nude of great sensitivity, where Léon Devos displays a painting of intimate atmosphere. The figure, captured in a recollected attitude, is modeled by means of a soft and melted brushstroke, with delicate tonal transitions that accentuate the warmth of the flesh.

The composition, centered and silent, refers to the tradition of the classical nude reinterpreted from a modern point of view, in which the interest shifts towards light, texture and contained emotion. The warm tones and the diffuse setting envelop the figure in an almost timeless space.

Léon Devos was a Belgian painter linked to post-impressionism, cultivating portraiture, landscape and still life. Trained at the academies of Mons and Brussels under the tutelage of Jean Delville and Constant Montald, he was co-founder of the Nervia group, key in the renewal of Walloon art. He developed an outstanding teaching work at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he became director, and joined the Royal Academy of Belgium in 1957. His work was recognized with several awards throughout his career, such as Le Prix d'Hainaut (1928) and the Carnegie Garden Club (1950).