Premiere coquetterie – Mother and Daughter in an Interior

Florent Willems (also known as Florent Willems van Edeghem) was a celebrated Belgian painter and accomplished restorer, best known for his genre scenes and portraits rendered in the style of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish masters. His ability to realistically depict luxurious fabrics such as silk and lace earned him the nickname “the modern Ter Borch,” in reference to the Dutch Golden Age painter Gerard ter Borch, whose work he deeply admired.

Born in Liège in 1823, Willems was the son of Martin Adrien Willems, a teacher at the Lycée Impérial. In 1832, his family moved to Mechelen, where he began his formal artistic training at the Academy of Fine Arts. Later, in Brussels, financial necessity led him to take up work as an art restorer and copyist for the dealer Héris, focusing primarily on reproductions and restorations of Dutch masters such as Caspar Netscher, Gabriël Metsu, and Gerard ter Borch—influences that would define his mature style.

Willems’ talent was recognized early: at just 18, he was commissioned by Sir George Hamilton Seymour, British ambassador to the Belgian court, to paint a family portrait. He made his official debut at the Brussels Salon in 1842 with A Music Lesson and A Guard-room Scene—the former acquired by King Leopold I of Belgium.

His success in Belgium paved the way for his move to Paris in 1844, where he became a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon. That same year, he was awarded a third-class gold medal. His works enjoyed great popularity, especially during the Second French Empire, appealing to a public eager for alternatives to Classicism and Romanticism. His genre paintings—featuring solitary or small groups of figures in historically styled interiors—coincided with a growing interest in 17th-century Dutch painting, notably the rediscovery of Johannes Vermeer.

In 1849, Willems was joined in Paris by fellow Belgian artist Alfred Stevens, who lived and worked with him for a time. Willems’ depictions of refined women in luxurious domestic settings had a profound impact on Stevens, who would become one of the foremost painters of modern women in Parisian art.

Willems’ works were both critically and commercially successful. At the 1850 Brussels Salon, his Public Sale of Paintings in 17th-Century Antwerp earned him the title Chevalier in the Order of Leopold of Belgium. Three years later, he was awarded the Chevalier of the French Légion d’Honneur for three paintings exhibited at the 1853 Paris Salon. At the Exposition Universelle in 1855, two of his submitted works were purchased by Emperor Napoleon IIIand Empress Eugénie, respectively, and he was elevated to Officer in the Order of Leopold.

Willems was highly regarded for his technique, particularly his capacity to imitate the textures and sheen of historical clothing with meticulous brushwork and glazing, producing an almost enamel-like surface. His interiors and costume scenes were admired for their technical refinement and decorative appeal. However, later critics noted a certain emotional distance in his figures, describing them as pale, reserved, and somewhat lifeless—especially in contrast to the more vivacious and contemporary women portrayed by Stevens.

As a restorer, Willems was also active at the Louvre, where he notably worked on Raphael’s Saint John the Baptist. His dual role as both creator and restorer of art further enhanced his reputation within elite European art circles.

He remained active and in demand throughout his life, with a strong market in both Europe and the United States. Willems passed away in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, in 1905 at the age of 82.

Today, his work is held in major international collections, including:

• Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

• Groeningemuseum, Bruges

• Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

• Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia

• Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nice

• Czernin Gallery, Vienna

• Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence

Selected Bibliography:

• Joost De Geest, 500 chefs-d’œuvre de l’art belge, Lannoo Uitgeverij, 2006

• Henry Lauzac, Galerie historique et critique du dix-neuvième siècle, 1865

• James Dafforne, Modern Painters of Belgium No. VII – Florent Willems, The Art Journal, 1866

• Alfred Stevens, Brussels 1823–Paris 1906, Mercatorfonds / Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, 2009

• European Painting and Sculpture, Ca. 1770–1937, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1991

Exhibition:

‘Een Verzameling schilderijen uit de 17e, 18e en 19e eeuw’, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal, 1980, Leiden, cat no. 61.