Esterel Cliffs by the Mediterranean

Julien Eugène Marie Joseph Stappers was born on August 9, 1875 in Chênée near Liège, as the eldest of twins together with his brother Edmond. He grew up in a family where music and culture played an important role, since his father Léopold Stappers was a music teacher. His mother, Marie Bormans, died when he was still a child, but the young Julien soon revealed an artistic sensitivity that would guide his path.

He spent his early years in Chênée, Grâce-Berleur and Hasselt, before moving to Antwerp to study painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1894 to 1899 under Albrecht De Vriendt. He then continued his training at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp from 1899 to 1901. After completing his studies he settled in Brussels, where he would live and work for most of his career.

Stappers made his exhibition debut in 1898 at the Salon de Namur and from 1903 onwards participated in numerous exhibitions throughout Belgium. He presented his work in Brussels, Spa, Liège, Ghent and other cultural centers. His paintings were shown at the Cercle des Beaux-Arts in Liège, at Galerie Le Studio in Brussels between 1949 and 1951, at the Rubens Gallery in Brussels in 1957, 1959 and 1960, and at Galerie Jordaens in Ghent in 1950, 1951, 1957, 1959 and 1960. He also took part in the Hoeilaart Druivenfeesten exhibitions in 1951 and 1956.

Julien Stappers became best known for his luminous city views, Mediterranean landscapes and, above all, his floral still lifes. He painted roses, anemones, daffodils, mimosa, foxgloves and many other flowers with extraordinary delicacy, often arranged in elegant interiors filled with light. His poetic nature found expression in his choice of vivid colors and refined atmospheres. Although he worked in an era when avant-garde movements were reshaping the art world, he remained loyal to a classical and realistic style. His refined and idealized works were especially admired by the aristocracy of Brussels.

Stappers also traveled widely, painting landscapes in Italy, particularly Capri, in France with views of Provence and the Côte d’Azur, as well as in Algeria and Tunisia. His journeys gave his work a southern brightness and vitality. In addition to painting he occasionally contributed as an illustrator, most notably in 1960 when he collaborated with the Walloon poet and inventor Louis Gérard Adinau on the book Sagesse du soir. Pastels et eaux-fortes.

He married Maria de Schutter and together they had two children, René born in 1902 and Gabrielle born in 1907. The family first lived in Etterbeek and later in Schaerbeek in a distinguished house with an artist’s studio at the rear. From 1945 he worked in a spacious villa in Hoeilaart surrounded by a garden and pond, where he also kept his studio.

Julien Stappers remained active until the final year of his life, exhibiting his work as late as February 1960. He died on April 17, 1960 in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe at the age of eighty three. His oeuvre, admired for its light, harmony and delicate detail, lives on in public and private collections and continues to appear at international auctions.