Léon Frédéric
Léon-Henri-Marie Frédéric (26 August 1856 – 27 January 1940) was a Belgian Symbolist painter. His earliest paintings joined Christian mysticism with pantheistic themes, while his later works increasingly reflected social concerns. Much of his work also shows the influence of fifteenth and sixteenth century Flemish art and Renaissance painting styles. Biography His father was a prosperous jeweler. In 1871, he was apprenticed to the architect and decorative painter, and began taking night courses at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. In 1874, he found a position in the workshop of Jean-François Portaels. The following year, he and several other young art students engaged a private studio where they could paint from live, nude models. From 1876 to 1878, he entered the Prix de Rome, but was not successful. Finally, his father financed a trip for studies in Italy from 1878 to 1879. There, he travelled to Naples, Rome, Florence and Venice. His favorite painters were Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio. On his return from Italy, he made his debut at the Brussels Salon, where he came under the influence of Jules Bastien-Lepage, and became a member of the artist group L'Essor. In 1883, he moved to Vresse-sur-Semois, in the