Portrait of a Gentleman

Casimir Van den Daele (also spelled Vandendaele) was born in 1818 in Deinze, he was a Belgian painter celebrated for his refined genre scenes and historical interiors, often set in the opulent periods of the Renaissance and Baroque.

He received his artistic training at the Ghent Academy of Fine Arts, a formative institution that nurtured many prominent 19th-century Belgian artists. After completing his studies, Van den Daele lived and worked for many years in Antwerp, where he established himself as a skilled and imaginative painter. His richly detailed works, characterised by their sumptuous textures, period costumes, and theatrical compositions, gained widespread recognition and were regularly shown at the prestigious Triennial Salons in Belgium.

Around 1852, Van den Daele settled in Bruges, where he remained artistically active. His paintings from this period reflect a continued fascination with historical interiors and finely rendered domestic scenes, which appealed to the growing bourgeois clientele of the time.

Van den Daele passed away in 1880 in Ghent, leaving behind a legacy of technically accomplished and visually rich paintings. His works remain appreciated for their historical charm and artistic finesse and are held in both private collections and public institutions, including the Groeningemuseum in Bruges.