Jules De Bruycker: Ghent's master draughtsman celebrated in new exhibition at MSK Ghent
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Wednesday, April 2, 2025


Jules De Bruycker: Ghent's master draughtsman celebrated in new exhibition at MSK Ghent
Installation view. Photo: MSK © Martin Corlazzoli.



GHENT.- The Museum of Fine Arts Ghent is dedicating an exhibition to the work of Jules De Bruycker (Ghent 1870-1945). An extensive overview of 150 drawings, watercolours and gouaches brings to life the dazzling, expressive and at times imaginary world of this Ghent artist-observer.

A versatile draughtsman

Today, most enthusiasts know Jules De Bruycker mainly as an etcher. Over the course of a career that spanned over forty years, he left behind an oeuvre of 309 individual prints and developed into one of the most pioneering graphic artists in Belgium during the first half of the 20th century. But De Bruycker was not only an extraordinary graphic artist. To this day, one key aspect of his oeuvre, namely the drawn work, has remained underexposed. This is precisely what the exhibition focuses on.

Drawing is De Bruycker's first love, even before his thirties when he begins devoting himself to etching. In his drawings we see a versatile artist who always has pencil and paper to hand, in order to quickly sketch an impression of what he observes in everyday life around him. But De Bruycker also works out themes in autonomous, larger, sometimes even monumental drawings. Prints and drawings aren’t strictly separated in his oeuvre either. He often reuses motifs from drawings in etchings, or later reworks elements from etchings into drawings. And if his drawings are less well known, this is even more the case with the watercolours, gouaches and the few oil paintings by his hand. These reveal that De Bruycker not only fascinates in black and white, but also sparkles in colour.

The observer of man

On a thematic level, the general public knows De Bruycker above all as the master of mild mockery, with which he approaches his immediate surroundings. De Bruycker is a masterful observer of group behaviour but an equally poignant witness of the individual: on the street, at the weekly markets, in the theatre, in church. In often a few concise lines De Bruycker reduces them to their pure essence. In doing so, he casts a sharp, sometimes caricatural and even merciless glance at his fellow man and also at himself.

In his work we see the teeming folk life in complex settings or, on the contrary, lonely figures against an abstract background. De Bruycker drags us into the exuberance of folk festivals and parades, but at the same time he confronts us with fellow human beings who live on the fringes of society, with their own transience and the lowest instincts of man. The phantasmagorical drawings and prints he made during the First World War bear witness to the latter, as he denounces the madness and human suffering of war through disillusioned ghost images.

150 works

In 150 exceptional works, the museum reintroduces the extraordinary artist that Jules De Bruycker was. 150 works in which his technical mastery is displayed, and that reveal how his unbridled capacity of observation and imaginative originality make Jules De Bruycker a unique and original artist. To this end, the museum draws on both its own rich and multifaceted collection as well as exhibiting numerous works from private collections.










Today's News

March 22, 2025

Exhibition celebrates 150 artists, tracing Black artistic influence from 1950s to 2000

Kimberly Hong joins Ahlers & Ogletree in Atlanta

The Gladyne K. Mitchell Collection of Important Estate Jewelry comes to Turner Auctions + Appraisals

Jules De Bruycker: Ghent's master draughtsman celebrated in new exhibition at MSK Ghent

Portland Art Museum to open transformed campus November 20, 2025

Altman Siegel presents an exhibition of works by Larry Bell and Liam Everett

Richard Learoyd's camera obscura magic: New photographs at Pace Gallery explore light, space, and intimacy

Jette Bang's Qatar: Rare Bedouin portraits and film unveiled at The David Collection

Osi Audu's "Magic Box": New drawings and paintings explore consciousness at Skoto Gallery

Gian Maria Tosatti transforms Milan's Ex-Magazzini Raccordati into dystopian "Paradiso" alongside exhi

Sotheby's announces exclusive watch servicing partnership with WatchCheck

Prune Nourry's "Venus" exhibition opens, exploring female representation through time

Kathrin Linkersdorff's "Microverse" and beyond: Art meets science at Haus am Kleistpark

Winner of the Icelandic Art Prize 2025: Pétur Thomsen

Yasmin Naderi Afschar: New Co-Director at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst

Kent State University Museum unveils spring tapestry exhibition by John Paul Morabito

Foam 3h exhibition explores Moluccan roots and ecological harmony

The Met to exhibit recognized works from New York City participants in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Ruiz-Healy Art now representing Frank Romero

Jennie Jieun Lee and David Permén at SIGNAL-Center for Contemporary Art

Los Angeles art scene celebrates the legacy of Alonzo Davis at Parrasch Heijnen

What To Do Before You Sell Your House for Cash to a Home Buying Company?

Japandi Serenity: The Effortless Way to Create a Calm, Clutter-Free Retreat at Home

How Smm Panel Helps Fashion Startups Gain Visibility

How Gaming Became the Premier Pastime of the 21st Century

5 small electronic accessories that will make your daily life easier

Professional Voice Text-to-Speech: Applicable Scenarios

Why Global Art Gifts is the Leading China Customized Medal Factory




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful