Nymph With Child Feeding Swallows, Attributed To Richir Herman, Brussels 1866 – 1942

Herman Jean Joseph Richir was born in Ixelles (Brussels) on November 4, 1866. A versatile Belgian painter, he is known for his portraits, still lifes, genre scenes, nudes, and landscapes. He also created decorative paintings designed to complement private homes.

Richir specialized in portraiture, often working for clients from high social circles. Among his sitters were King Albert and Queen Elisabeth, Cardinal Mercier, and Countess d’Oultremont. Less well-known are his landscapes of Limburg and the Kempen, regions he frequented while staying with his friend, the artist Émile Van Doren (1865–1949).

He began his studies at the Sint-Joost-ten-Node Academy under Gustave Biot and Charles Hermans, continuing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels (1884–1889) under the renowned master Jean-François Portaels (1818–1895). During his studies, he was awarded the Second Rome Prize for Painting in 1886.

Richir lived in Schaerbeek. In 1900, he became a drawing teacher, and in 1905 he was appointed first teacher of painting from life at the Brussels Academy. He served as director of the Academy several times (1906–1907, 1910, 1911, 1915–1919, and 1925–1927) and retired in 1927.

His pupils included Albert Alleman (1892–1933), Éliane de Meuse (1899–1993), Paul Hagemans (1884–1959), Maurice Mareels (1893–1976), Guy Onkelinx (1879–1935), Georges Rogy (1897–1981), José Storie (1899–1961), Charles Swyncop (1895–1970), Maurice Schelck (1906–1978), and Max van Dyck (1902–1992).

Richir exhibited regularly in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Ostend, as well as multiple times at the Paris Salon.

He passed away in Uccle (Brussels) on March 15, 1942. Today, his works are held in important private collections worldwide, as well as in leading institutions such as the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the Museum of Ixelles, the Charlier Museum, the National Bank of Belgium (including portraits of King Albert I, Queen Elisabeth, and Governor Eugène Anspach, 1894), the Schaerbeek municipal collection (Le Bijou), and the Emile Van Doren Museum in Genk.