Shadows on the Beach

Henri-Victor Wolvens was one of the group of painters who, after the Second World War, sought a synthesis of Expressionism and the intimate realism practised by many Flemish painters in the 1930s and ‘40s. Wolvens had a penchant for simple, trite subjects from his immediate surroundings. In addition to portraits and views of nature and the town, he repeatedly depicted…

Henri-Victor Wolvens was one of the group of painters who, after the Second World War, sought a synthesis of Expressionism and the intimate realism practised by many Flemish painters in the 1930s and ‘40s. Wolvens had a penchant for simple, trite subjects from his immediate surroundings. In addition to portraits and views of nature and the town, he repeatedly depicted the sea and the beach on the Belgian coast. His paintings are characterised by the use of thick masses of paint and forceful brushwork. However, his vivid colours enabled him to achieve a lightness that captures the atmosphere of a summer day at the coast exceptionally well.