Under The Bridge, 1956 Léon De Smet (1881-1966) Impressionist Pointillist River Landscape

Under the Bridge, 1956Léon DE SMET (1881-1966)Pointillist Impressionist River Landscape, oil on panel by Léon De Smet, 1956. River scene of excellent quality and in excellent condition, with a small figure in a rowboat in the shadow of the bridge. Signed and dated lower right. Presented in a period frame.Dimensions: 66 cm x 57.5 cm approximately (framed)Artist BiographyLéon de Smet studied, like his brother Gustav, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, where he was mentored by Jean-Joseph Delvin. Although he lived in Sint-Martens-Latem between 1906 and 1913, he did not belong to the Latem Expressionist group, being primarily influenced by Impressionism. He became a member of the Luminist Life and Light group alongside Théo van Rysselberghe. In 1914, while his brother Gustav went into voluntary exile in the Netherlands after the outbreak of the First World War, Léon de Smet settled in Germany. He returned to Brussels after the war and settled permanently in Deurle in 1926. During a stay in England, de Smet painted mainly portraits of authors, including John Galsworthy, George Bernard Shaw, and Joseph Conrad, as well as portraits of London society figures. Immediately after the war, he briefly flirted with Expressionism but soon returned to his Impressionist style. Unlike his Expressionist counterparts, he primarily celebrated 'happy moments,' as evidenced by Bath Time and Harmony in White (1909), Interior (1912), Deurle in the Snow (1938), and Intimacy (1941). De Smet presented his works at the 1909 Venice Biennale and also exhibited at the Leicester Galleries in London. After his death, his work was exhibited at the De Vuyst Gallery in Lokeren, including in 2003. Museum and gallery holdingsAntwerp (Flemish Museum): Portrait of Herman Teirlinck; Portrait of Auguste Vermeylen; Portrait of Styn StreuvelsBrussels (Royal Museums)Deurle (Léon De Smet Museum)Ixelles (MBA)