The Artist’s Portrait

Théodore Gérard was born on December 29, 1829, in Ghent, the son of painter Eugène Aimé Gérard and Marie Françoise Becker. Coming from a family of decorative painters, he began his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent at a young age, where he was taught by, among others, Théodore Canneel and Jean-Baptiste Van der Plaetsen. Although he initially hoped to study in Antwerp, which was then a flourishing artistic center, his father insisted he remain in Ghent, where he focused on decorative painting.

In 1851, he married Jeanne Vanden Bulcke, originally from Ledeberg. The couple had several children, including the painters Lucien Gérard and Charles Gérard. Around 1858, Gérard began his first study trips, which took him through the Moselle region, Alsace, Prussia, and Austria. In 1865, he embarked on an eighteen-month journey through Bavaria, Swabia, and the Black Forest, where he spent time with the artist colony in Betzingen. These travels were instrumental in shaping his artistic vision, and his work became notably influenced by the Düsseldorf School, with which he came into contact during his time abroad.

His first official exhibition took place at the Antwerp Salon in 1864. Gérard quickly built an international reputation, winning gold medals in London, Vienna, Brussels, and Algiers, and receiving awards at exhibitions in Philadelphia, Sydney, Melbourne, Nice, Lyon, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. His genre scenes, landscapes, and animal subjects were widely appreciated and are now held in numerous public collections, including the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, the Reading Museum in Pennsylvania, the Golestan Palace in Tehran, and the museum in Sydney.

His body of work is rich with warm, narrative scenes that depict everyday rural and village life. With careful attention to detail and a humanistic approach, Gérard brought his compositions to life. Notable works include Village Fair in Swabia, The Wedding Guests, and To the Health of the Pastor, housed respectively in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent.

Throughout his life, Gérard moved from Ghent to Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, then to Schaerbeek, and finally to Laeken. He remained active as an artist until his final years. Théodore Gérard died on October 29, 1902, in Melle at the age of 72 and was buried in the same town. His work stands as a testament to his technical mastery and his deep engagement with the human experience in 19th-century painting.