Notes

Maurice Sijs’ boat paintings are amongst his most popular subjects, which allowed him to explore different paint applications and visual solutions to best express the graphic potential of reflected light. In this work, Sijs illuminates the composition with light and colour, strengthening the shadow areas and flecking the side of the boat with ribbons of colour.

Sijs (alternatively ‘Sys’) was a Belgian Impressionist and Post-Impressionist from Ghent. He attended the Art Academy at Gand from 1893 to 1900, where he met the brothers Leon and Gustave De Smet; the latter would become one of the founders of Belgian Expressionism. In 1905, Sijs joined the Second Group of Sint-Martens-Latem, an artists’ colony, where he lived along with the brothers De Smet, Frits van den Berghe, George Minne, and Gustave Van de Woestyne. From 1907, he travelled through Belgium, France, and the Netherlands – for some years on a houseboat named ‘’t Nest’ – before re-settling in Ghent in 1923. Sijs is known for his paintings depicting portraits, landscapes, fishing boats, and small harbours.

Provenance

The Property of a Collector.