Xavier Mellery (1845-1921) ranks as one of the most original Belgian proto-symbolists of the 19th century. Born as the son of a gardener at the Royal Palace at Laeken, Mellery studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts from 1860-67. He was a precocious talent, and won the Prix de Rome in 1870, which allowed him to travel to Rome to discover Renaissance art. He continued to travel throughout his lifetime and exhibited at group exhibitions of the artist's society Les XX in the 1880s and early 1890s, as well as at La Libre Esthétique, the successor to Les XX. Both these provided a stage for avant-garde art in late 19th century Belgium to be exhibited [1].
The present charcoal drawing belongs to a group of intimist works that Mellery exhibited at La Libre Esthétique in 1895 under the collective title of "Emotions d' Art. L' Ame des Choses", or: the Soul of Things. By this the artist meant the soul of inanimate objects, which occupy living rooms as mere artefacts, but are, in the dead of night, in some mysterious way actually "alive". This adds another layer of understanding to the meaning of life. It was a theme that was to inspire other artists, notably Fernand Khnopff.
Our drawing shows a mantelpiece above a fireplace, which would have been found in countless middle-class homes of late 19th century Belgium. We are only shown a rectangular slice, with a corner of the mantelpiece still being visible, as well as the frame of a mirror to the right that would have hung above the fireplace. The mantelpiece is cluttered with various artefacts, including a candlestick and what looks like a small sculpture. Behind, in the corner, the ornate frame of a painting hanging on the wall can be made out.
The artist has used the charcoal to draw out the graphite effect, suggesting shadow in which the objects are not immediately discernible. Yet there is a hidden light source, coming from somewhere to the right of the drawing. This sheds a feeble shaft of light on the statue and a stone mask hanging directly above it. The faces captured in stone seem still, yet strangely anguished. One senses a strange source of energy that envelops the shadowy drawing room. As L' Art Moderne wrote of Mellery's work in 1889: " [These drawings] only show empty interiors, yet they are haunted by something that lives".
Mellery's work can be found in all leading Belgian museums, although drawings such as the present one come on the market relatively infrequently.
_________________________________
1. Impressionism to Symbolism. The Belgian Avant-Garde, 1800-1900, exh cat, Royal Academy of Arts London, 1994, pp. 173-179.
The present charcoal drawing belongs to a group of intimist works that Mellery exhibited at La Libre Esthétique in 1895 under the collective title of "Emotions d' Art. L' Ame des Choses", or: the Soul of Things. By this the artist meant the soul of inanimate objects, which occupy living rooms as mere artefacts, but are, in the dead of night, in some mysterious way actually "alive". This adds another layer of understanding to the meaning of life. It was a theme that was to inspire other artists, notably Fernand Khnopff.
Our drawing shows a mantelpiece above a fireplace, which would have been found in countless middle-class homes of late 19th century Belgium. We are only shown a rectangular slice, with a corner of the mantelpiece still being visible, as well as the frame of a mirror to the right that would have hung above the fireplace. The mantelpiece is cluttered with various artefacts, including a candlestick and what looks like a small sculpture. Behind, in the corner, the ornate frame of a painting hanging on the wall can be made out.
The artist has used the charcoal to draw out the graphite effect, suggesting shadow in which the objects are not immediately discernible. Yet there is a hidden light source, coming from somewhere to the right of the drawing. This sheds a feeble shaft of light on the statue and a stone mask hanging directly above it. The faces captured in stone seem still, yet strangely anguished. One senses a strange source of energy that envelops the shadowy drawing room. As L' Art Moderne wrote of Mellery's work in 1889: " [These drawings] only show empty interiors, yet they are haunted by something that lives".
Mellery's work can be found in all leading Belgian museums, although drawings such as the present one come on the market relatively infrequently.
_________________________________
1. Impressionism to Symbolism. The Belgian Avant-Garde, 1800-1900, exh cat, Royal Academy of Arts London, 1994, pp. 173-179.
The Fireplace, 1888-95
Signed upper left" "XM"
Charcoal on paper
14 x 9 cm
Provenance
Private collection, France
Xavier Mellery (1845-1921) ranks as one of the most original Belgian proto-symbolists of the 19th century. Born as the son of a gardener at the Royal Palace at Laeken, Mellery studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts from 1860-67. He was a precocious talent, and won the Prix de Rome in 1870, which allowed him to travel to Rome to discover Renaissance art. He continued to travel throughout his lifetime and exhibited at group exhibitions of the artist's society Les XX in the 1880s and early 1890s, as well as at La Libre Esthétique, the successor to Les XX. Both these provided a stage for avant-garde art in late 19th century Belgium to be exhibited [1].
The present charcoal drawing belongs to a group of intimist works that Mellery exhibited at La Libre Esthétique in 1895 under the collective title of "Emotions d' Art. L' Ame des Choses", or: the Soul of Things. By this the artist meant the soul of inanimate objects, which occupy living rooms as mere artefacts, but are, in the dead of night, in some mysterious way actually "alive". This adds another layer of understanding to the meaning of life. It was a theme that was to inspire other artists, notably Fernand Khnopff.
Our drawing shows a mantelpiece above a fireplace, which would have been found in countless middle-class homes of late 19th century Belgium. We are only shown a rectangular slice, with a corner of the mantelpiece still being visible, as well as the frame of a mirror to the right that would have hung above the fireplace. The mantelpiece is cluttered with various artefacts, including a candlestick and what looks like a small sculpture. Behind, in the corner, the ornate frame of a painting hanging on the wall can be made out.
The artist has used the charcoal to draw out the graphite effect, suggesting shadow in which the objects are not immediately discernible. Yet there is a hidden light source, coming from somewhere to the right of the drawing. This sheds a feeble shaft of light on the statue and a stone mask hanging directly above it. The faces captured in stone seem still, yet strangely anguished. One senses a strange source of energy that envelops the shadowy drawing room. As L' Art Moderne wrote of Mellery's work in 1889: " [These drawings] only show empty interiors, yet they are haunted by something that lives".
Mellery's work can be found in all leading Belgian museums, although drawings such as the present one come on the market relatively infrequently.
_________________________________
1. Impressionism to Symbolism. The Belgian Avant-Garde, 1800-1900, exh cat, Royal Academy of Arts London, 1994, pp. 173-179.
The present charcoal drawing belongs to a group of intimist works that Mellery exhibited at La Libre Esthétique in 1895 under the collective title of "Emotions d' Art. L' Ame des Choses", or: the Soul of Things. By this the artist meant the soul of inanimate objects, which occupy living rooms as mere artefacts, but are, in the dead of night, in some mysterious way actually "alive". This adds another layer of understanding to the meaning of life. It was a theme that was to inspire other artists, notably Fernand Khnopff.
Our drawing shows a mantelpiece above a fireplace, which would have been found in countless middle-class homes of late 19th century Belgium. We are only shown a rectangular slice, with a corner of the mantelpiece still being visible, as well as the frame of a mirror to the right that would have hung above the fireplace. The mantelpiece is cluttered with various artefacts, including a candlestick and what looks like a small sculpture. Behind, in the corner, the ornate frame of a painting hanging on the wall can be made out.
The artist has used the charcoal to draw out the graphite effect, suggesting shadow in which the objects are not immediately discernible. Yet there is a hidden light source, coming from somewhere to the right of the drawing. This sheds a feeble shaft of light on the statue and a stone mask hanging directly above it. The faces captured in stone seem still, yet strangely anguished. One senses a strange source of energy that envelops the shadowy drawing room. As L' Art Moderne wrote of Mellery's work in 1889: " [These drawings] only show empty interiors, yet they are haunted by something that lives".
Mellery's work can be found in all leading Belgian museums, although drawings such as the present one come on the market relatively infrequently.
_________________________________
1. Impressionism to Symbolism. The Belgian Avant-Garde, 1800-1900, exh cat, Royal Academy of Arts London, 1994, pp. 173-179.
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