Background
Firmin Baes was born on April 19, 1874 in Saint-josse-ten-noode, Belgium. He was the son of Henri Baes, an artist and architect, and Héloïse Boly. Firmin also had two sisters — Alice and Irma.
Firmin Baes was born on April 19, 1874 in Saint-josse-ten-noode, Belgium. He was the son of Henri Baes, an artist and architect, and Héloïse Boly. Firmin also had two sisters — Alice and Irma.
Since 1888 to 1894, Firmin attended Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Some time later, he enrolled in a private academy "La Patte de Dindon", where the painter met Eugène Laermans, Jean Laudy, Emile Fabry and Victor Rousseau.
In 1897, Firmin participated in the prestigious Godecharle contest with his painting "Terugkeer van de verloren zoon" (The Return of the Prodigal Son). Since 1898, he took part in different exhibitions, held by Association Pour l’Art.
Between 1899 and 1900, Baes and his father collaborated on the decoration of a hotel restaurant in Brussels.
Baes exhibited annually at galleries in Brussels and elsewhere in Belgium, and also occasionally in Europe and in America. While at first he showed oil paintings and large charcoal drawings, as his career progressed he began to work mainly in pastel, producing highly finished portraits, still life subjects and nudes.
In 1910, Baes built a large house and studio in Brussels which he filled with his collection of paintings, and where he would receive visitors and patrons. He worked to a strict schedule, with mornings spent on portrait sittings and paintings from posed nude models, while the afternoons were devoted to the painting of still life subjects, interiors and landscapes.
During the period from 1920 to 1921, Baes painted a memorial to the Belgian army for Hôtel des Invalides in Paris.
In 1941, the painter published his book "Histoire de Peintres".
Also, Firmin Baes took part in different exhibitions, held in such cities, as Paris, Munich, Berlin, Venice and others.
Firmin was renowned for superb technical facility and a great use of colour. His pastels are his most popular and sought after works, which have reached exceptionally high prices at auction. His pastel "Centre of Attention" fetched approximately £50,000 at auction in New York in 1995, and his "Portrait of Mrs Brandt-Witlocks" was sold for about £44,000 in Amsterdam in 1997.
In 1923, the painter was made an Officer of the Order of the Crown. He was also awarded the Order of Academic Palms in 1930 and was made an Officier de l'Instruction Publique.
Quotes from others about the person
"Where Baes shows his superiority is not so much in his amazing scientific technique but in his very real sense of decoration. One is often astounded at the skill of his composition and his layout. Firmin Baes is a virtuoso of the pastel." — Patrick Berko
Firmin Baes married Maria Nelis in 1902. The couple had three daughters — Suzanne, Marguerite and Georgette.
