A Belgian painter, engraver, draftsman and designer, George Lemmen,
was born in 1865 in Schaerbeek. For a short period he studied at the school
of drawing in St. Josse-ten-Noode. In the early 1880s he became influenced
by Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. In
1888 he joined the avant-garde group Les Vingt in Brussels. In 1890-1893,
under the influence of Théo van Rysselberghe, he moved towards Neo-Impressionism
and painted numerous landscapes and portraits using the technique. He exhibited
at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris and participated in Les Vingt
exhibitions in Brussels. The death of Seurat
in 1891 had a great impact on all the painters of the Neo-Impressionist
group. By 1895 Lemmen freed himself from Pointillism and painted in a more
traditional, Impressionist style, though his colors were closer to those
of the Nabis-painters. During his travel to England Lemmen became interested
in artifacts. His one-man show in 1913 in Brussels had a great success.
In July 1915 he moved to Ukkel, where he died in July 1916. His wide-ranging
work includes numerous book illustrations, posters, ceramics, carpets,
drawings, pastels and gouaches.
Bibliography:
Henri Perruchot. La vie de Seurat. Hachette. 1966
Impressionist Art. 1860-1920. Edited by Ingo F. Walther. Benedikt
Taschen Verlag GmbH. 1997
Painting of Europe. XIII-XX centuries. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Iskusstvo. 1999.
If you would like to read interesting facts about world-famous artists, historical events or important historical individuals or just simply want to know the latest additions to our online collection, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
