Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Landscape with Donkey, 1846



Landscape with Donkey
E.J. Verboeckhoven
Belgium, 1846
The Victoria & Albert Museum



Belgian painter Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (1798-1881) was learned the principles of art at the knee of his father, the sculptor Barthélemy Verboeckhoven. Later, he attended the Ghent Academy where he was a pupil of the landscape painter Balthasar-Paul Ommeganck (1755-1826). By 1827, the artist had become the director of the Musée de Bruxelles and later a teacher at the Académie Royale.

Verboeckhoven was known for his careful depictions of animals silhouetted against flat landscapes. This painting from 1846 is an excellent example of his style. Here, we see a donkey set against a white and blue sky. This same donkey appears in several of Verboeckhoven’s compositions. Obviously, he was a favorite subject of the artist.



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