Frans Smeers artwork • painting • previously for sale On the beach

The Belgian painter Frans Smeers, born in 1873, was one of the founders of the art circle 'Sillon' during his studies at the academy in Brussels. These 'Sillonnists' reacted to the neo-impressionism that had become a meaningless routine in Belgium and initially opted for a return to a more realistic style of painting in a sombre palette. However, Smeers gradually opted for the light colours and the outdoor painting of the luminists. Around Nieuwpoort, a seaside resort south of Ostend, he painted beautiful beach and dune views, often with his wife and three daughters, bathed in a mother-of-pearl light, the paint applied with a quick stroke.