Herman RICHIR (1866-1942): oil on canvas mounted on canvas

Beautiful small oil on canvas mounted on panel.
Herman Richir, born Herman Jean Joseph Richir on 4 December 1866 in Ixelles and died on 15 March 1942, was a Belgian academic painter. Herman Richir entered the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, where he received support from Charles Hermans in particular, who gave him invaluable advice. From 1884 to 1889, he continued his training at the Académie royale des beaux-arts in Brussels under Jean-François Portaels. Already a laureate of the academy in 1885, Richir came second the following year to Constant Montald in the Prix de Rome. In 1889, at the triennial Salon in Ghent, he won a gold medal for his group The Ward Meulenbergh family, which immediately placed him among the masters of portraiture. His presence was noticed at the Paris Salons in 1889 and 1892, as well as at the Brussels International Exhibition in 1897. Herman Richir was first appointed professor of life drawing at the Académie royale des beaux-arts in Brussels in 1900, before becoming professor of painting from 1905 to 1927. Richir's academic teaching had a great influence on many of his pupils, including two prominent members of the Nervia group, Louis Buisseret and Léon Navez.