DE PAUW, Jef

Author Bio

Born Joseph Jean Louis de Pauw in the town of Schaerbeek in 1894, de Pauw was known as Jef throughout his life.  This is somewhat confusing as he had a contemporary in the art world of the same name although six years older. 

          Jef de Pauw became an extremely able and highly regarded Expressionist painter, whose work is now being re-evaluated and placed rightfully amongst that of the somewhat better known painters of his day.  This recent appreciation has been brought about as a result of some comprehensive retrospective exhibitions and the acquisition of his work by a number of prominent Belgian museums. 

          A self-taught painter, de Pauw was encouraged to pursue an artist vocation by the artists Henri Roidot and Anto Carte who had become familiar with his work whilst he was in his teens. Early in his career he concentrated on producing prints but by the early 1920’s he  had turned his attention to oil painting.  These works depicted a variety of subjects including urban views, still-lifes and landscapes but it is as a painter of the human form that he is best remembered.  In 1924 his career blossomed when he was invited to participate in the prestigious exhibition ‘Peintres de Watermael-Boitsfort’ held at the Galerie Georges Giroux in Brussels.  During the following ten years he showed his work at various of the Salons Triennaux and on two occasions at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels.  After a short but successful career Jef de Pauw died prematurely in the town of Etterbeek in 1947.  His paintings today can be seen in Belgium in the museums of Antwerp, Brussels, Liege, Lierre, Saint-Gilles and Termonde as well as at the National Museum of Estonia in Tallin.

Lit;    Arto

          P. Piron

          E. Benezit