A View of Bruges

Lionel Poupaert was a Belgian painter, restorer and accomplished copyist of the Flemish Primitives, whose artistic career was closely connected with the city of Bruges. Born on 27 September 1900 in Bruges, he was the son of a goldsmith. Throughout his long career, Poupaert devoted himself not only to painting but also to preserving and studying the artistic heritage of his native city.

In 1912, at the age of twelve, Poupaert entered the Bruges Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Flori Van Acker, the distinguished Bruges painter and director of the Academy. He received a solid academic training and developed a particular sensitivity towards the architecture, streets and atmosphere of Bruges. Other sources record his studies at the Academy through the early 1920s.

Poupaert’s connection with the Bruges Academy continued throughout his professional life. In 1926, he was appointed by the Municipal Council of Bruges as a teacher at the Academy, a position he held until his retirement in 1966. His long teaching career made him an important figure in the artistic life of Bruges and connected him closely with several generations of local artists.

As a painter, Poupaert is particularly known for his numerous views of Bruges. He repeatedly portrayed the city’s picturesque canals, bridges, streets, historic buildings and quiet corners, creating a valuable visual record of Bruges during the twentieth century. His works combine careful observation of the city with a lively, painterly handling of light and atmosphere. He also painted portraits of prominent figures from Bruges and occasionally found inspiration beyond the city, including in the Ardennes. His work has been described as possessing a neo-impressionist character.

Poupaert was also deeply involved in the preservation and interpretation of the Flemish artistic tradition. He became particularly accomplished as a copyist of the Old Masters, with Hans Memling occupying a central place in this aspect of his work. His copies were executed with considerable technical care and were sometimes commissioned for important civic and ceremonial occasions. A surviving example of his copy of Memling’s Triptych of Jan Floreins, for instance, is dated 1958.

Between 1952 and 1956, Poupaert painted two portraits of guardians and superiors of the Convent of Our Lady of the Pottery in Bruges. In 1955, he collaborated with the Bruges artist Jules Fonteyne on the murals of the Church of Christ the King.

In 1961, Poupaert produced a second copy of Hans Memling’s celebrated Adoration of the Magi triptych, commissioned by the Bruges Naval College as a gift to King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium on the occasion of their marriage. In 1966, he was again commissioned by the City of Bruges, this time to copy Memling’s Madonna with the Apple. The work was presented as a gift to Prince Albert II and Princess Paola at the inauguration of the Prince Philip Dock in Zeebruges.

Poupaert married in 1931 and subsequently lived in the Biezenstraat in Bruges. He remained closely connected with his native city throughout his life, both through his teaching and through his extensive body of paintings depicting Bruges and its inhabitants.

Lionel Poupaert died on 12 February 1989. Today, he occupies an important place among the artists of the Bruges School. His paintings are represented in private and public collections, including the Bruges Museums, while his numerous views of the city continue to provide an evocative artistic record of Bruges and its architectural heritage. A Bruges collection also specifically identifies Poupaert among the local artists represented in its holdings and notes his reputation for copying Old Masters such as Hans Memling.