Michel T. A. Van Cuyck, "Panorama of the village" (Grez-Doiceau?), oil on canvas, 1859

Michel Thomas Antonius Van Cuyck (19 August 1797, Ostend - 10 May 1875, Ostend) was a Belgian painter, watercolorist and lithographer. From 1811 to 1817, he studied at the Bruges Academy of Fine Arts. After graduating, he set up a studio in Oostende, but was forced to supplement his income by painting houses. In 1820, he and François-Antoine Bossuet co-founded the School voor Teeken- en Bouwkunde (School for drawing and architecture). They had several students who became well known, including François Musin and James Ensor. During the years following Belgian independence, King Leopold I transformed Ostend into a sort of Royal Residence, which developed into a fashionable seaside resort. Van Cuyck was one of the first to depict the tourism and the bathing culture there. His beach scenes and seascapes are now some of his most familiar works. He also painted Flemish fairs and landscapes, primarily in Walloon Brabant (Grez-Doiceau). His portrayal of Queen Louise on her deathbed was reproduced as a lithograph. The Village Vista presented here is of exceptional dimensions and in an excellent condition. Bibliographie Norbert Hostyn, Michel Van Cuyck, in : Handelingen van het Genootschap voor Geschiedenis (Acts of the Society for History), CXVI, 1979 Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek, Vol.12, Brussel, 1987 Lexicon van Westvlaamse beeldende kunstenaars, Vereniging van Westvlaamse Schrijvers, 1992 ISBN 978-90-7239-015-8 Norbert Hostyn, Beeldend Oostende, Van de Wiele, 1993 ISBN 978-90-696-6090-5