The Life and Art of Edmond Verstraeten
Edmond Verstraeten was a Belgian painter and etcher who was born in Waasmunster, Belgium. He began his artistic journey as a self-taught painter after completing his schooling at a boarding school with a Latin-Greek department in Sint-Niklaas. Following the advice of Franz Courtens, he studied landscape painting under Joseph Coosemans at the Higher Institute for Fine Arts in Antwerp. During this period, he practiced en plein-air painting in the Tervuren Forest and became acquainted with Emile Van Doren, a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Verstraeten also studied under Emile Claus. His artistic style is characterized as Luminism, a post-impressionist style that focuses on the luminosity of light and various light effects. In addition to his visual arts, he was a poet whose works were published in the magazine De Vlaamse Gids.
Regional Influence and Legacy
Verstraeten spent over sixty years living in the province of East Flanders, specifically in the region of the Durme Valley. He resided in Tielrode and later moved to the village of Sombeke, where he built a house called Den Dommel on a hill. This location provided him with a panoramic view of the Durme Valley, which became a frequent subject for his paintings, earning him the title "Master of Sombeke." His works are held in several notable institutions, including:
His marriage to Augusta Reynaert resulted in a family of eleven children and thirty-eight grandchildren.
