Jef Lambeaux

JEF LAMBEAUX (Antwerp, 1852 - 1908).
"The force".
Patinated bronze.
Signed.
Measurements: 116 x 87 x 35 cm.
Sculpture in round bulk made in bronze representing a male figure with raised arms and torn gesture. His musculature shows that he has been captured just at the moment of maximum tension, which favors the sculptor a finish of great expressiveness that is enhanced by the technical treatment of the body of the protagonist.
Joseph Marie Lambeaux, Jef Lambeaux, was especially known for his erotic sculptures and female nudes, inspired by his work in "Human Passions", although he also excelled in other themes. He trained in Antwerp, at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he was a disciple of Jean Greefs. His first work, "War", was exhibited in 1871, and was followed by a long series of sculptural groups with humorous themes, such as "Dancing Children", "Say Good Morning", "The Lucky Number" and "An Accident (1875). He then went to Paris, where he made two figures of beggars for the Belgian Salons. During these years he also executed what is considered his masterpiece, "The Kiss" (1881). After a visit to Italy, where he was impressed by the works of Juan de Bolonia, he focused his work on the effects of force and movement. Other notable works include the Brabo Fountain in Antwerp (1886), "Stealing from the Eagle's Nest" (1890), "Drunkenness" (1893), "The Triumph of Woman", "The Bitten Faun" (which caused a great stir at the Liège Universal Exhibition in 1905) and "Human Passions", a colossal marble bas-relief, made from a sketch exhibited in 1889. He also created numerous busts of various figures, including portraits of Hendrik Conscience, pioneer of writing in the Dutch language, and Charles Buls, burgomaster of Brussels. In 2006, the association ASBL Musée Jef Lambeaux was created to promote the creation of a museum dedicated to this sculptor in Saint-Gilles, Belgium. The museum was promised in 1898 by the town council, but was never built. Lambeaux is currently represented in the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Liège, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, the Museum of Fine Arts in Leuven and the Folkwang in Essen (Germany), among others.