Pieter VAN MOL (1906-1988): « The Meuse in Lustin »

Pieter Van Mol was born in Londerzeel on August 3, 1906. Painter, watercolourist. His talent for drawing and painting was noticed by Romain Steppe, who familiarised him with materials, gave him his first lessons at Sint-Amands a/d Schelde and advised him to enrol in the Academy of Fine Arts. Training at the Academy of Malines with W. Rosier and G. Van De Woestyne, in sculpture at the Academy of Saint-Josse-ten-Node at Gustaaf Fontaine, in painting at the Academy of Etterbeek at Philippot. Spent his childhood in Saint-Amand but later opted for an artistic career through a fashion workshop in Brussels, the young group of artists La Route and Cobra (1950s). Settled in the South of France (Arles, Fontvieille). From 1960 to 1963, he took courses with O. Kokoschka at the Schule des Sehens in Salzburg. Predilection for landscapes and views of villages (of the South), portraits, figures. In the press: His flair for impressionist fawson colours is characteristic. His instinct for synthesis always prevails, and he wanted to quickly identify and represent the uniqueness of a human movement. Mentioned in BAS II and in Two Centuries of Signatures of Belgian Artists. A monograph was devoted to him. He died in Heidelberg on October 24, 1988.