Ghent 1838 – 1890 Brussels
Belgian Painter
Un étalage de fleurs – At the Florist
Jean (Johannes Bernardus) Capeinick was born in Ghent on 19 June 1838, the son of Isidore Capeinick, a horticulturist and nurseryman, and Anne Marie De Munck. Surrounded from an early age by gardens and plants, he developed a lifelong passion for the natural world, which would become the central theme of his art. His oeuvre, marked by a realist style, focused on flowers, fruits, vegetables, exotic plants, garden views, and still lifes.
From 1855 he studied industrial drawing at the École industrielle de Gand, supported by a municipal grant, before working in Paris as an industrial draftsman. Around 1860–1862 he entered the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Gand, where he studied under Théodore Canneel. In 1862 he won two first prizes at the Exposition quinquennale de la Société royale d’agriculture et de botanique de Gand for a presentation of fifty varieties of apples and pears, and that same year exhibited his first flower watercolour at the Salon de Gand.
Appointed professor at the Académie de Gand in 1872, he also created decorative works for the Hôtel d’Allemagne and designed La Flore terrestre for the Venetian water parade during Ghent’s festivities. In 1873 he won first prize at the Ghent Floralies with his canvas Vue du jardin du comte Ch. De Kerckhove. Like most of his contemporaries, Capeinick regularly exhibited at the Triennial Salons in Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels, as well as at smaller provincial exhibitions, often in connection with floral manifestations. He also pioneered the concept of open studio days, notably in the autumn of 1888, when he received visitors while recovering from a serious eye illness.
In 1881 Capeinick resigned from his teaching post and settled in Schaerbeek, where he opened his own studio and taught pupils such as Rodolphe and Juliette Wytsman, later leading figures of Belgian Impressionism. He was also a member of the short-lived Cercle des aquarellistes et des aquafortistes belges (1883–1884).
His works were widely collected, with examples now held in the Verzameling Vlaamse Gemeenschap, the Stedelijke Musea Mechelen, and the museums of Ghent. The Museum of Fine Arts in Ostend once possessed an important still life, Kunstvoorwerpen uit het Hallepoortmuseum te Brussel (1885), which was lost during the Second World War.
After years of suffering from an incurable nervous and ocular disease, Jean Capeinick died on 11 February 1890 at the asylum on the Chaussée de Louvain in Schaerbeek, aged 51.
With its impressive scale and dazzling palette, Un étalage de fleurs – At the Florist exemplifies Capeinick’s mastery in uniting decorative richness with naturalistic precision, a hallmark of his celebrated floral works.
This large and colourful composition represents a richly arranged florist’s stall. In the foreground, vibrant azaleas bloom in terracotta pots, while cut roses lie delicately wrapped in paper beside sprigs of syringa. A wicker basket overflows with clusters of hydrangea, enhancing the impression of abundance. In the background, lush foliage and the elegant fronds of an Areca palm suggest a conservatory or garden setting. A striped shop canopy partly shelters the display, reinforcing the atmosphere of a bustling flower shop.
