"Little Schoolboy" by Arthur Navez (1881-1931) Oil on canvas, 73 x 99 cm

Arthur Navez (Antwerp 1881 - Ixelles 1931) "Little Schoolboy" Oil on canvas (73 x 99 cm) (98 x 124 cm with frame) Signed lower right: Navez Painter of figures, interior scenes, landscapes and still lifes, Arthur Navez was born in Antwerp on March 17, 1881. His artistic vocation emerged at an early age, in fact, at only 11 years old, he successfully passed the entrance exam to the Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp. At 19, he attended the Academy of Brussels for a year, then moved to Paris where he was immediately admitted to the "Ecole des Beaux-Arts" at the studio of Jean Léon Gêrome. During his Parisian stay which lasted seven years, Navez perfected his style by visiting the galleries of modern art and the Louvre, particularly attracted by Fouquet, Clouet, Chardin, Watteau, Rembrandt, Manet, Degas. He debuted with a realist style close to the painting of Manet and Degas to evolve around 1910 towards a synthetic rendering placing himself within the movement: "Le Fauvisme Brabançon". In 1907 he returned to Brussels where he worked tirelessly throughout his life, persecuted by material difficulties as he was already the father of a child and his wife suffered from tuberculosis. In 1908, Navez exhibited at the annual Salon of the artistic movement "Le Sillon" presenting a portrait of his son published in the exhibition catalog. From 1917, the painter's style changed significantly. Influenced by Cézanne, he dedicated himself to a more structural painting, almost reaching a figurative cubism. At the exhibitions of the "Cercle Artistique" of Brussels in 1923, 1926 and 1929 where the artist presented mostly still lifes, he enjoyed enormous success. After 1923, Navez painted almost exclusively still lifes with sober tones and extremely material brushstrokes. The critics wrote: "Les natures mortes qu’Arthur Navez nous montre aujourd’hui sont harmonieuses , opulentes et faites de matière consistante et de formes précises, elles portent la marque d’une sensibilité individuelle et bien de notre temps par le choix des sujets et surtout par la qualité de la couleur, par sa fraîcheur et sa subtilité, par les sonorités délicates où tant de sensations s’accordent." In 1932, within the "Salon du Printemps" in Brussels, an important retrospective of his work was organized. Charles Vildrac wrote in his monograph: "Pourvu d’un métier admirable et de mieux en mieux adapté à sa nature, à sa vision, il croit encore que tout art s’applique à traduire,à magnifier, à transposer harmonieusement la vie palpitante, sa grâce et sa splendeur." "En somme, Navez aspire à la Peinture dans ce qu’elle a d’essentiel et de permanent sans aucun souci des contorsions et des maquillages de la mode." Description: This painting, rendered with a richness of tones and light, clearly dates back to the "Fauve" period of Navez (circa 1910). Fully grasping the spirit of the Fauvistes Brabançons, who sought in the simple gestures of our daily life the joy of living, the artist represents inside a room full of familiar objects, a child intent on doing his homework. (Given that in this period Navez's son was the age of the child represented and that the latter is very similar to "Enfant au coq" of 1913, it could be a portrait of his own son.) Each element, treated as a protagonist, occupies and defines the pictorial space with overwhelming personality. The composition of the painting is expertly studied and there is an intimate relationship between the painted objects that, by contrast or similarity of shapes and colors, recall each other. This calibrated play of lines, colors, light and volumes that goes beyond the subject depicted has a powerful emotional effect on the observer. Works present in the following museums: Museum of Antwerp, Ghent, Ixelles and Liège. Bibliography: Charles Vildrac "Arthur Navez" Editions Pierre Tisné Paris 1949. Serge Goyens de Heusch "L'Impressionisme et le Fauvisme en Belgique" Fonds Mercator Albin Michel (pp. 331,346,355,406,417,426,433,440) Paul Piron « PIRON: Dictionnaire des Artistes Plasticiens de Belgique des XIX et XX siècles » Ed. Art in Belgium (p.217) Andrée Dessert -Corvol « ARTO: Dictionnaire Biographique Arts Plastiques en Belgique » (pp. 421-422) State of conservation: good (The painting has been relined) Sincerely: