Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Elder

Kenau Simonsdr. Hasselaar during the siege of Haarlem by Ferdinand de Braekeleer

Ferdinand de Braekeleer (Antwerp, 12 February 1792 - Antwerp, 16 May 1883), sometimes spelled as Ferdinand de Braeckeleer, was a Flemish painter. He is known for his historical paintings and is called 'the Elder' to differentiate from his son with the same name (Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Younger), also a painter.

Life

Ferdinand was born as child of poor parents. After their passing away he was admitted to the Art school for orphans of Mathieu Ignace van Brée in Antwerp. After that he continued his education at the Royal Academy for fine Arts of Antwerp. His paintings received several prizes in 1809 and 1811 and in 1813 he made his name in Salon de Paris with his work Aeneas die Anchises redt uit de brand van Troje ("Aeneas carrying Anchises from the fire of Troy").

Early on, De Braekeleer decided that he wanted to make a living of painting, and he tried out several genres in which this would be the most likely successful. Besides his famous historical paintings, he also painted in these years religious paintings, such as St.Sebastiaan for the Church of Our Lady of the Vineyard in Wijnegem (current location unknown).

In 1819 he won the Antwerp Prix de Rome in the category of historical paintings, a scholarship that allowed him to study in Italy to improve his skills, with his painting Tobias bezorgt het zicht aan zijn vader terug (Tobias Restoring his Father's Sight) at the Antwerp art exhibition, where he exhibited three other paintings. He went consequently to Italy from 1821 to 1822 to continue his education. Together with his tutor Van Brée (who joined him in Rome) he visited several Italian cities, amongst which Naples, Ancona, Firenze, Bologna and Venice. Fascinated by the Italian cities and their surrounding landscape, he fills a sketch book with crayon drawings of landscapes and city views, which is currently on display in the Bibliotheque Royale Albert (Royal Albert Library) in Brussels.

After his return in Belgium, De Braekeleer lived in his home town Antwerp. He created work inspired by the old Flemish masters. He primarily focused on historical paintings, amongst which the painting De Citadel van Antwerpen na het bombardement van 1832 (The citadel of Antwerp after the bombardment of 1832). Partially because of his paintings around the 1832 bombardments, he became an influential artist in the Belgium after the independence war. His two sons, Ferdinand the Younger (1828 - 1857) and Henri de Braekeleer (1840 - 1888) followed in their fathers footsteps and also became painters; but also his nephew, Adriaan Ferdinand de Braekeleer (1818 - 1904), was a painter. Besides his sons, he tutored several other painters who were of influence, such as Hendrik Leys.

Pupils

• Louis Antoine Carolus
• Hendrik Joseph Gommarus Carpentero
• Adriaan Ferdinand De Braekeleer
• François Antoine De Bruycker
• Xavier De Cock
• Joseph Dens
• Robert van Eijsden
• Willem Jodocus Mattheus Engelberts
• Leopold Fisoette
• Napoléon François Ghesquière
• Paul Haesaert
• Aloïs Pieter Paul Hunin
• Jacob Jacobs
• Johan Janssens (1809 - 1855?)
• Eduard Knudden
• Jan Baptist Lammens
• Hendrik Leys
• Petrus Marius Molijn
• Florent Mol
• Aimé Pez
• Willem Rikkers
• Louis Somers
• Charles Venneman
• Constant Wauters
• Pierre Joseph Witdoeck

Work

(incomplete overview)

• Aeneas die Anchises redt uit de brand van Troje ("Aeneas carrying Anchises from the fire of Troy"), 1813
• Tobias bezorgt het zicht aan zijn vader terug (Tobias Restoring his Father's Sight), 1819; unknown current location
• St.Sebastiaan; unknown current location
• Oestereters (Eating oysters), 1829; collection gemeentemuseum?
• De Citadel van Antwerpen na het bombardement van 1832 (The citadel of Antwerp after the bombardment of 1832); on display in Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
• Herbergscène met muzikanten (Tavern scene with musicians), 1843 based on work by Adriaen van Ostade
• Beleg van Haarlem (Siege of Haarlem); on display in Teylers Museum
• Interieur met boeren (Farmhouse with peasants), drawing. On display in Schlossmuseum Weimar
• Oude jager met jong meisje (Old hunter with young woman), 1867; private collection

Bibliography

• P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, p. 152-155.
• P. & V. Berko, "19th Century European Virtuoso Painters", Knokke 2011, p. 498, illustrations p. 442.