Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers

Place: Antwerp

Born: 1803

Death: 1874

Biography:

Gustaaf Wappers was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and during 1826 in Paris. The Romantic movement with its new ideas about art and the role of the artist had a profound influence on him. He was a pupil of the history painter Mathieu Ignace van Brée. In 1830, he became a professor at the Antwerp Academy. He was a member of the Société des douze, a group of artists who wanted to reform the art of painting in Belgium. He was also a member of the Société des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles. In 1832, he became a titular painter of the King. In 1835, he was made a baron by King Leopold I. He was also a member of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order and the Knight of the Order of Christ. He was a proponent of the Belgian national movement and painted several patriotic works. He was also a portrait painter and painted several members of the Belgian royal family. He died in Paris in 1874.