Artist Edward Portielje's Paintings

Edward Anton Portielje (1861 – 1949) was a Belgian realism and romantic painter born in Antwerp. Edward Anton Portielje's father was a great portrait painter the famous (Jan Frederik Peter Portielje). His Brother was the Genre Artist Gerard Jozef Portielje (1856-1929). At the School of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Edward studied under Charles Verlat, who also taught Van Gogh in the early 1880s. The fact that Edward Anton Portielje and Van Gogh were studying at the same time shows how different creative currents were throughout this time period. While many painters in both Belgium and France started exploring new pictorial methods, Edward Anton Portielje maintained a consistent style with traditional subjects.

Despite the fact that his brother, Gerard, had shown in the Salon de Paris in 1881, 1882, and 1884, Edward opted to concentrate his efforts on less prestigious local displays at Antwerp, The Hague, Namur, Mons, Liège, Sap, Verviers, and Middelburg. Edward Anton Portielje's heroines are often young girls who like chit-chatting at the table while playing cards or sipping tea. The actual scenario is blended with an overly romanticized rendition of the tale in his paintings. This feature of Edward Anton Portielje's painting, and, more broadly, Dutch painting at the time, is described by art historians as "a little play that pauses and enchants us." The artist was inspired by the beaches of Zeeland.

In these genre circumstances, little details typically catch our attention. This is a skillfully drawn out teapot, samovar, berries, or other accessory through which a pleasant miracle of light and color is transmitted. This is the image's essential essence. The artist identifies himself by his quest for beauty and admiration for truth. Edward Anton Portielje collaborated with E. De Jans and J. Dierickx on various wall panels at the World Exhibition in Ghent in 1894. He also designed a panel for the World Exhibition in Antwerp. Portielje's contribution to Belgian art won him the honorary title of nobility from the state. On December 18, 1949, he died in Antwerp. Edward Anton Portielje's genre settings, painted in the brilliant colors that make his work so appealing, provide current viewers with a playful remark on leisure. His attention to local displays reflects his patriotism by generating art that is uniquely Belgian in both subject matter and mood.