Notes

Elements of radical stylisation and simplification characterised Maurice van Essche's paintings throughout his life. Both works presented for auction, Congolese Figures and Two Congolese Women, typify the artist's rendering of beautifully composed groupings of Congolese women gracefully going about their daily tasks framed within groupings of stark trees.

The artist's romanticised rendering of African life has a strong linear quality with his characteristic elongated figures draped in white and softly shaded blue, pink and yellow cloth, the off-the-shoulder garments adding a seductiveness to Congolese Figures. In this work the staged and dramatically stylised figures are contrasted against rich earthy reds, deep orange and a commanding royal blue background that further accentuates the theatricality of the painting.

Van Essche was born in Belgium and studied art at the Brussels Academy (1924 - 25) under the expressionist and surrealist artist James Ensor and later, in 1933, he worked with Henri Matisse after a chance encounter with the artist. In 1939 he won a scholarship from the Belgian Government that took him on a painting expedition to the Belgian Congo, an experience that was to have a profound influence on his art making.