Antique Framed Oil Painting on Canvas by Omer Coppens (1864–1926)

Description

Antique Framed Oil Painting on Canvas by Omer Coppens (1864–1926) is a splendid study in realism by the artist, at … more Antique Framed Oil Painting on Canvas by Omer Coppens (1864–1926) is a splendid study in realism by the artist, at once depicting a typical day in a rural life while simultaneously inviting the viewer into the scene as if to be welcomed home. Judicious use of earth tones and shadows indicates an early morning time frame. Note the intriguing composition that creates a non-traditional melding of the sky and foreground interrupted by the perspective of a thatch-roofed cottage obviously expanded over the decades to accommodate the family.
Born in Dunkirk, Coppens studied art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at Ghent and worked in the south of France, Italy, and Morocco.
Taking an interest in ceramic art, in about 1894 and 1895 Coppens is believed to have spent time in workshops at Torhout and Bredene. He taught Arthur Craco, who produced his first ceramics in the workshop of Coppens.
Seeking the true use of light, the realist brushstrokes of Coppens's early work exhibited Impressionist influence. Coppens became the secretary of a group called Pour l'Art and was also a member of l'Essor and the Cercle artistique et littéraire de Bruxelles.
In 1898 he was mentioned in The Magazine of Art and evolving during the Art Nouveau period, Coppens is best known as a painter, engraver, and ceramic artist, but he also worked in pewter.
Coppens took part in the Brussels Universal Exhibition of 1910. Interestingly, his son, Willy Coppens (1892–1986), became a famous aviator in the First World War.
Passing in 1926, an obituary in The Connoisseur called him "the earnest interpreter of the urban scene" and reported that he had been one of the best-known members of Pour l’Art.
In 2001, the Rouge-Cloître Art Centre in Brussels mounted an exhibition entitled "Omer Coppens or the Dream of Art Nouveau", in collaboration with the Free University of Brussels, the Royal Museums of Art and History, the Horta Museum, and the International Centre for the Study of the 19th century.
Survives in its original frame.
Dated 1906
Measures 47.5H x 41.5W x 4D
Available for pickup in the Dallas Design District, Dallas, TX. less