Biography

Overview

Artist Overview

At-a-glance artist context.

Painter of portraits, figures, landscapes, genre scenes and still lifes with flowers. Firmin Baes was the son of the decorator Henri Baes. He was a pupil of his father and of Léon Frédéric at the Brussels Fine Arts Academy and at the free Academy "La Patte de Dindon" (1894-1900). He made his debut around 1900 as a painter of figures and landscapes. He worked in Luxembourg and Zeeland and at the Belgian coast, where he had a preference for Knokke. His early works show the influence of Léon Frédéric, but he soon moved to a clearer and velvety line. He became known as a painter of realistic figures and made delicate use of light and shadow. Baes managed to infuse his paintings with a timeless and fashion-free soul by emphasizing the concentration and inner life of his characters. He was a master of the pastel technique and took part in several exhibitions. Inscription by the artist on the back of the painting: "Exposition de Paris - octobre 1937 - Souvenir d'une fête de Nuit - Firmin Baes".

Museums

Museum Presence

Collections & Cities

Known institutional or city associations.

• Antwerp
• Brussels
• Charleroi
• Ixelles
• Ostend
• Ypres

Literature

Further Reading

Bibliographic Reference

Source material for further study.

P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Flower Painters; Belgian and Dutch Artists born between 1750 and 1880", Knokke 1995, p. 110. P. & V. Berko, "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke 1981, p. 25. G. Naegels-Delfosse, "Firmin Baes", Brussels 1987.