Entry fee: Free
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L'Esquisse Cultural Hotel Barbizon is devoting its new exhibition to the Belgian painter Edmond Verstraeten (1870-1956), a leading figure in the Flemish luminism. From 2 April to 28 September 2026, Discover the world of this artist, whose work is in natural dialogue with the pictorial history of Barbizon.
Born in Waesmunster in East Flanders, Edmond Verstraeten trained with Franz Courtens, one of the great Belgian landscape artists of his time. He then joined the Tervuren artists' colony, This circle of Belgian painters fascinated by natural light is reminiscent of the spirit of the Barbizon painters half a century earlier. Close to’Émile Claus, Verstraeten, the leader of Belgian luminism, developed a luminous palette in which Flemish nature vibrates under changing skies.
With more than a thousand paintings to his credit, Verstraeten captured the landscapes of Flanders in an ever-changing light: sun-drenched meadows, undergrowth filtering the morning light, rivers with their shifting reflections. His work reveals a rare sensitivity to the atmosphere and seasonal variations of the Flemish countryside.
The exhibition takes on its full meaning in the setting of Barbizon, the village that saw the birth of the French pre-impressionist movement. The painters of the Barbizon School and the Flemish luminists shared the same quest: to get out of the studio and capture natural light on the spot. L'Esquisse, in the heart of the painters' village, creates a bridge between two European pictorial traditions linked by this common fascination.
The exhibition is in free admission, open every day from 11.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.. L'Esquisse Hôtel Culturel houses a museum that regularly hosts temporary exhibitions by artists whose work reflects the artistic heritage of Barbizon.
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