Boys by the Water

Isidore Verheyden was born on November 24 in Antwerp, he was a Belgian painter renowned for his landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and flower pieces, works distinguished by their refined treatment of light, subtle tonalities, and lyrical sensitivity. Born in Brussels, he was the son of the painter Jean-François Verheyden and Mélanie Horgnies. In 1874, he married Julienne Rosalie Gérome, with whom he had five children, including François Verheyden, who also became a painter. His sister Pauline was the mother of the painter Jean Vanden Eeckhoudt, whose daughter, Zoum Walter, would likewise achieve recognition as an accomplished artist.

From an early age, Verheyden was immersed in art. At the age of eleven, he entered the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, beginning in the “Line Drawing” section between 1857 and 1859. From 1862 to 1865, he followed the courses “Drawing after Antique Models,” “Antique Torsos and Fragments,” and “Antique Figures,” under the guidance of one of his most influential teachers, Joseph Quinaux. He also spent a year in the “Drawing from Nature” atelier before continuing his training in the free studio of Jean-François Portaels, who would later become director of the Academy. Portaels’ cosmopolitan vision and openness to contemporary movements broadened Verheyden’s artistic outlook.

Between 1874 and 1883, Verheyden lived in Hoeilaart, a village surrounded by the landscapes that would become central to his oeuvre. He later moved to Brussels, residing successively in Robianostraat 73, Vertroostingstraat 78, and finally Abdijstraat 45 in Ixelles. In 1883, he settled near his close friend, the sculptor and painter Constantin Meunier, at a time when Brussels was entering a dynamic and transformative phase in its artistic life. That same year saw the creation of Les XX, a groundbreaking collective that brought together the most progressive Belgian artists of the moment, including James Ensor, Willy Finch, Fernand Khnopff, Anna Boch, Rodolphe Wytsman, Willy Schlobach, Guillaume Van Strydonck, Louis Dubois, Périclès Pantazis, Theo Van Rysselberghe, and Guillaume Vogels. Although Verheyden’s style retained strong ties to realism, the exchange of ideas within this avant-garde environment enriched his artistic vocabulary and further refined his approach to colour and light.

Verheyden’s paintings often reveal a harmonious balance between technical mastery and poetic sensibility. His landscapes, whether depicting the quiet charm of Hoeilaart, the light-filled outskirts of Brussels, or the meadows and rivers of the Belgian countryside, display a deep understanding of atmospheric effects and seasonal change. His still lifes and floral pieces are equally prized for their elegance and compositional clarity. While rooted in realism, his work was influenced by impressionism’s attention to fleeting light and spontaneous brushwork, positioning him as an important figure in the development of Belgian native impressionism.

Despite his artistic achievements and critical recognition during his lifetime, Verheyden’s financial situation remained precarious, a reality shared by many of his contemporaries. Nevertheless, his temperament, dedication, and artistic vision left a lasting mark, influencing younger painters such as Alfred Bastien and Joseph François. He died in Elsene on November 1st in 1905.

Today, his works are held in numerous private and public collections, including the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the Charlier Museum, the Museum of Ixelles, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Mu.ZEE in Ostend, the Musée de l’Art Wallon in Liège, the Museum M in Leuven, the Emile Van Doren Museum in Genk, the Museum of Fine Arts in Mons, and the Stedelijk Museums of Aalst and Tienen, as well as in the Belfius Collection. His paintings remain valued not only for their beauty but also for their role in chronicling the Belgian landscape and its artistic evolution at the turn of the 20th century.