Alfred Bastien - Still Life with Salmon and Lobster - oil painting

Masterful still life by Alfred Bastien (1873-1955), winner of the Godecharle Prize in 1897, frontline painter commissioned by King Albert I during the First World War, painter of the Panorama of the Yser, director of the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts, Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold. 70 x 90 cm, oil on canvas. Signed.

Alfred Théodore Joseph Bastien (Ixelles, 16 September 1873 – Uccle, 7 June 1955) was a Belgian post-impressionist painter of landscapes, portraits and still lifes. In his landscapes, still lifes and portraits, he focused on light effects. At the same time, he refused to conform to any -ism. For him, painting itself was important. His best-known work is the panoramic painting The Panorama of the Yser.
His Still Life with Salmon and Lobster is a typical example of his craftsmanship, with a striking colour scheme and a masterful hand.
Bastien was a good friend of sculptor Jef Lambeaux and a regular visitor to the Belgian royal family, from Albert I and Elisabeth to Prince Regent Charles. From 1927 to 1945, he was a teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and served as its director three times. Paul Delvaux was one of his students.