The End of a Gloomy Day

Like Albijn Van den Abeele and Gustave van de Woestyne, Valerius De Saedeleer belonged to what was called the first Sint-Martens-Latem group. In close contact with the simplicity of country folk and of nature, he injected new substance into his art. The landscapes he painted here are witness to an almost mystical experience of nature. De Saedeleer emphasised the infinity…

Like Albijn Van den Abeele and Gustave van de Woestyne, Valerius De Saedeleer belonged to what was called the first Sint-Martens-Latem group. In close contact with the simplicity of country folk and of nature, he injected new substance into his art. The landscapes he painted here are witness to an almost mystical experience of nature. De Saedeleer emphasised the infinity and timelessness of the landscape in a pure and sober linear style related to the art of the Flemish primitives, with whose work he became acquainted at a major exhibition in Bruges in 1902. With decorative and rhythmic areas of colour and thorough stylisation, in End of a Gloomy Day De Saedeleer reduced the landscape to its essential form.