Alfred Bastien (1873-1955) - Undergrowth At The Log Pile

Alfred Bastien (1873-1955)
Undergrowth with a pile of logs.
Oil painting on panel
Dimensions: 55 x 38 cm. With frame: 70.5 x 52 cm
Good condition

Alfred Bastien (1873–1955) was a Belgian painter trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and then in Brussels, where he studied under Jean Delvin and Jean-François Portaels. He completed his training in Paris, where he discovered Courbet, Delacroix and the Impressionists, developing a marked taste for lighting effects. A founding member of the Le Sillon group in 1893, he traveled extensively, notably to North Africa, the Belgian Congo, Asia and the Pacific. In 1913, he and Paul Mathieu created the monumental Panorama of the Congo for the Universal Exhibition in Ghent. A volunteer during the First World War, he became the official painter of the Belgian and then Canadian army. After 1920, he collaborated on other large historical frescoes and taught painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he trained many students. He died in Auderghem, where he had set up his studio at the Rouge-Cloître.