The Artistic Evolution of Armand Vanderlick
Armand Vanderlick was a Belgian painter born in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. His formal training began with evening drawing classes at the Academie van Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, followed by studies at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Brussel under Constand Montald from 1915 to 1917. His early career saw him residing in Sint-Martens-Latem for three years before moving to Afsnee and eventually settling in Gentbrugge. Following his first exhibition at Galerie Thmis in Brussels in 1929, his work underwent significant stylistic shifts. His initial compositions featured rural scenes rendered in fauvist tones. As he utilized oil paint, his palette transitioned toward darker tones, a style he later chose to overpaint to distance himself from that specific period of his work.
By 1934, Vanderlick embraced an expressionist style characterized by frivolity, focusing on domestic scenes, the sea, and still lifes. While he experienced a period of relative obscurity after 1945 as interest shifted toward abstract art, his later repertoire was defined by grey-blue variations. During the 1950s and 1960s, he reached an artistic peak that moved toward a form of constructivism, utilizing a connection of color planes that leaned toward abstraction. His work was highly regarded by contemporaries such as Gustaf De Smet, and a retrospective was held at the Museum Dhont-Dhaenens in Deurle in 1982.
Selected Works and Collections
The artist's legacy is preserved in several notable collections, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and the Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent. His catalog includes various still lifes and figurative studies:
