Jules Pierre VAN BIESBROECK 'The Ironmonger' orientalist painting, oil on panel, late 19th century

Jules Pierre Van Biesbroeck came from a family of artists (his father Evariste was a painter and his uncle a sculptor). Jules van Biesbroeck was born in Portici near Naples on October 25, 1873, and died in Brussels on January 27, 1965. Jules van Biesbroeck, who remained in his father's family for only a short time, enrolled at the Ghent art school. He exhibited and sold his first painting at the Ghent Triennial in 1888.
"At the age of fifteen, I made my first painting: that year, I studied hard all the subjects taught at the academy; I learned everything a student can assimilate and, with this knowledge, I took part in the competition in Rome. I was blackballed. Furious at this failure, I vowed to avenge myself with a great painting. Who hasn't lived the beginner's dream of creating the great painting that will amaze everyone? To prove that you have the strength to overturn all false prejudices against you. My great picture was painted in the winter of 1889 and was accepted at the Salon des Champs-Elysées in Paris. It had the honor of scandalizing Dame Censure. She vetoed it, and I was sent to Paris to hide the nudity of those big devils of men who, pulling on ropes, were launching the prototype of the boat into the sea. The Argos Launch was the subject of this great painting. "An accomplished painter and sculptor, he entered both disciplines for the Belgian Prix de Rome in 1897 and 1898, but came second in both painting and sculpture. Recognition came gradually, including a gold medal at the International Art Exhibition at Munich's Glaspalast (now defunct, it inspired London's Crystal Palace), and Milan awarded him a gold medal in 1906. In 1926, he decided to travel to North Africa for the first time. Algeria and its lights, colors and atmosphere of the Maghreb prompted him to take on more oriental subjects and use lighter colors.