Charles Van Den Eycken (1859 – Brussels – 1923) - ' Curious Kittens'

Charles Van Den Eycken
1859 – Brussels – 1923
Belgian Painter

'Curious Kittens'

Signature: signed lower left and dated 'Ch. Van den Eycken 1900.'
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: image size 34,5 x 45,5 cm, frame size 61 x 72 cm

Biography: Charles Van den Eycken was born in Brussels on 17 April 1859 into a family of artists. His grandfather Frans worked as a decorative painter, while his father, also named Charles, gained recognition for landscapes in the style of the seventeenth-century Dutch masters. From an early age he was immersed in this artistic world of color and tradition. First trained by his father, he went on to study with the renowned animal painter Joseph Édouard Stevens at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and later refined his skills at the Academy of Louvain.

Although he began his career painting detailed domestic interiors, Van den Eycken soon discovered his true calling in the depiction of animals, particularly cats and dogs. By the 1880s his canvases were filled with lively kittens, pampered lapdogs, and faithful hounds, each rendered with remarkable realism and charm. His paintings reveal not only animals but also distinct personalities, each gaze and gesture telling a story.

From 1881 onwards he exhibited regularly at the major salons of Brussels, Liège, Ghent, and Antwerp, and his works were also shown in the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain. His reputation reached the royal court when Queen Marie-Henriette of Belgium commissioned him to paint portraits of her beloved dogs.

Van den Eycken was a member of L’Essor, a progressive group of Belgian artists that encouraged his development of a style marked by warmth, intimacy, and meticulous detail. He signed his works in different ways, sometimes as Ch. van den Eycken, sometimes as C. van den Eycken, and occasionally as Charles Duchêne, the French translation of his Flemish surname meaning “of the oak.”

Today his works are treasured in both private and public collections. Museums in Antwerp, Brussels, and Kortrijk preserve important examples of his art, including his celebrated painting A Cat with Her Kittens of 1896, which captures both tenderness and playful mischief.

Charles Van den Eycken died in Brussels on 27 December 1923. His legacy endures in paintings that unite technical mastery with warmth and humanity, offering timeless glimpses into the domestic life of fin-de-siècle Belgium.