Belgian neo-impressionist painter Theo van Rysselberghe

Big Clouds. Painting by Belgian neo-impressionist painter Theo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926), 1893. The Indianapolis Museum of Art

Belgian neo-impressionist painter Theo van Rysselberghe Originally from a French-speaking bourgeois family of architects, he began studying art in Ghent and then in Brussels. His first paintings were classical. However, later influenced by Neo-Impressionist theories, and the newest tendencies in European art, he moved toward impressionism. Also, Rysselberghe had become friendly with the most prominent artists of the time. In particular, Seurat, Signac and Cross.
IOn fact, he began to practice divisionism in his portrait painting using small dots of different sizes on a canvas. Practicing this divisionist technique, known as pointillism, until about 1910, he, however, returned to classic style at the end of his life.
Rysselberghe often went abroad, mostly to Morocco, but finally had settled in Paris in 1898. Noteworthy, he had a great influence on the development of’ Neo-Impressionism in Belgium. A retrospective exhibition of his works took place in 1927 in Brussels, a year after his death.

Bay of St. Brelade. Painting by Belgian neo-impressionist painter Theo van Rysselberghe

Rarely seen, much of the works of Belgian artist, painter, sculptor and designer Theo van Rysselberghe still remain in private collections. Meanwhile, in November 2005, his work Port Cette (1892) fetched a record 2.6m € at an auction in New York.