Wiertz, Antoine (1806-1865)

Wiertz, Antoine

PAINTER (BELGIUM)

BORN 22 Feb 1806, Dinant, Namur - DIED 18 Jun 1865, Brussel
GRAVE LOCATION Brussel: Ixelles Cimetière (Avenue 5)

Antoine Wiertz was the son of a soldier from the army of Napoleon Bonaparte who worked for the police forces of the Netherlands after the fall of the emperor. The young Wiertzs admired the work of Rubens and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In 1828 he just missed the Prize of Rome, coming second. From 1829 until 1832 he lived in Paris, where he studied the great works of the Louvre, earning his bread drawing portraits.

In 1832 he returned to Antwerp and in this year he did win the Prize of Rome. He arrived in Rome in 1834 and he worked there at the studio of Horace Vernet until 1837. In 1835 he rented another studio to make his enormous painting "Greeks and Trojans wrestle for the body of Patrocos" (Musée de l'Art Wallon, Liège). In 1836 he painted the passing away of Laetitia Bonaparte, Napoleon's mother. His work was noted in Rome and he was complimented by the famous Thorvaldsen and admitted to the Accademia di San Luca.

After his years in Rome he returned to Paris, but he failed to impress the critics and left Paris in disgust. He worked in Liège (1837) and then Brussels (1845). In 1851 he obtained a new studio at the Rue Vautier. It was put at his disposal on the condition that he would make seven large paintings for the state. After he died the state inherited his posessions as well as the house. Soon the author Hendrik Conscience moved in and lived there until he died in 1883. Nowadays the former studio is the Wiertz Museum.

Images
The grave of Antoine Wiertz at the Ixelles Cimetière, Brussels. Picture by Androom (28 Apr 2007)	The grave of Antoine Wiertz at the Ixelles Cimetière, Brussels. Picture by Androom (28 Apr 2007)	"La Belle Rosine". (Brussel: Musée Wiertz)
"Une scène de l'enfer". (Brussel: Musée Wiertz)	"L'inhumation précipitée". (1854, Brussel: Musée Wiertz)	"Le bouton de rose". (1864, Brussel: Musée Wiertz)