J. Willems - Bust Of M. De Meester De Bocht, 1875.

Large painted plaster bust of M. de Meester de Bocht. Dedication (in Flemish?) on the back. Dated 1875 and signed J. Willems on the side.
Joseph Willems studied at the Antwerp Academy under Paul de Vigne and, between 1857 and 1862, at the Mechelen Academy under Joseph Tuerlinckx. He appears to be an eclectic sculptor.
His works include decorative architectural statues, statues, funerary monuments, busts, (child) statues, figures and allegorical compositions.
He won first prize and a medal of honor in a competition organized by the Antwerp Society of Fine Arts. In 1877 he created the “Justice” statue for the courthouse in Tournai and the court of justice in Mechelen. Between 1871 and 1910, Joseph Willems was a professor at the Academy of Mechelen.

Lacks and accidents.