Fernand Khnopff was a Belgian painter, etcher photographer and sculptor, who represented Symbolism and Art Nouveau movements. Also, he was a co-founder of "Les XX" group.
Background
Ethnicity:
He was born in a family of Austrian ancestry, who arrived in Belgium in sixteenth century.
Fernand Khnopff was born on September 12, 1858 in Grembergen, Belgium. He was a son of Edmond Jean Joseph Khnopff and Léonie Joséphine Ghislaine Dommer. Also, Fernand had a sister, Marguerite Herminie Juliette Marie Khnopff and a brother, whose name was Georges Khnopff. Most of male members of his family were lawyers or judges.
When Fernand was a boy, his family lived in Bruges. In 1864, they settled down in Brussels.
Education
In 1875, Fernand entered Free University of Brussels to study law. It was at that time, that he developed a passion for literature, discovering the works of Baudelaire, Flaubert, Leconte de Lisle and other mostly French authors. Within a year, Khnopff left the university and on October 25, 1876, he enrolled at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels to study art and literature. During his last year at the Académie, Fernand neglected his classes in Brussels and lived for a while in Passy, an area of Paris, where he attended the Cours Libres of Jules Joseph Lefebvre at the Académie Julian.
In 1881, Fernand Khnopff exhibited his works for the first time at the "Salon de l'Essor" in Brussels. There, he met Émile Verhaeren, a Belgian poet and art critic, who would later become his lifelong supporter and would write the first monography of the painter. Later, in 1883, Khnopff co-founded "Les XX", a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors. Later in his career, the painter would regularly take part in the annual "Salon", organized by the group.
In the mid-1880's, Fernand created notable works, such as "Listening to Schumann", "After Joséphin Péladan: The Supreme Vice" and "In Fosset. An Evening". His work, entitled "After Joséphin Péladan: The Supreme Vice", served as a frontispiece to French writer and Symbolist Joséphin Péladan’s popular erotic novel "Le Vice suprême" (1884).
In 1889, Khnopff started to visit England, where he would show his works in future. There, in England, he also befriended many artists, such as William Holman Hunt, George Frederic Watts, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones and others. In 1895, Fernand was appointed a correspondent for the British art journal The Studio, a post he held until 1914.
In 1898, the painter showed his works at the first exhibition of the Vienna Secession. There, his works received high critical acclaim. During the period from 1900 to 1902, Fernand designed a lavish house and studio for himself in Brussels. In 1903, he started to design costumes, scenery and sets for many theatrical productions. In 1904, Knopff was commissioned by the city council of Saint Gilles to decorate the ceilings of the "Salle des Marriages" (Wedding Room) of the new Town Hall and the same year, a wealthy banker Adolphe Stoclet asked him to design decorative panels for the music room of the Stoclet Palace in Brussels.
In the 1900's, the artist continued to focus on mythological subjects and themes of introspection, memory, temptation and mystery in his works. In the early 1910's, Fernand exhibited widely throughout Europe, where his works were highly estimated.
During World War I, Khnopff lived in Brussels, and, despite the fact, that his health and eyesight were declining, he continued to teach painting classes, write on art and artists and create his own works until his last days.
Achievements
Fernand Khnopff was mostly known as a key representative of Belgian Symbolism and a co-founder of "Les XX". One of his most famous paintings is "Caress".
In 1919, the painter was made a Commander of the Order of Leopold. Also, he was an Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.
His works are kept in the collections of numerous museums, including Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Groeningemuseum in Bruges, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels and others.
