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

Details

Description

Thatched Cottage in Morning Light, signed and dated 1906 by Omer Coppens (1864-1926), leads the eye along a worn brick … Read more Thatched Cottage in Morning Light, signed and dated 1906 by Omer Coppens (1864-1926), leads the eye along a worn brick path toward the whitewashed walls of a Flemish farmhouse, where a woman in a red headscarf pauses at the doorway as the day begins. Golden light filters through the trees and settles across the heavy thatch, built up stroke by stroke into a roof you can almost feel. Coppens records every trace of a home lived in for generations: cracks running through the plaster, sage green shutters thrown open to the morning, a wooden washtub resting in the grass, flowers blooming beneath the windows, and a brick wing added over the years as the family grew. The low vantage point and the long sweep of the roofline draw the viewer deep into the scene, giving the canvas remarkable depth and the warm sensation of arriving home.
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. His realist brushwork, enriched by the Impressionist pursuit of light, made him one of the most respected members of the Brussels circle Pour l'Art, where he served as secretary. He also belonged to L'Essor and the Cercle Artistique et Littéraire de Bruxelles, and exhibited at the Brussels Universal Exhibition of 1910.
Equally accomplished as an engraver, ceramist, and designer in pewter, Coppens became an important figure of Belgian Art Nouveau, celebrated in 2001 with a retrospective at the Rouge-Cloître Art Centre in Brussels, organized with the Royal Museums of Art and History and the Horta Museum.
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 41.5H x 47.5W x 4D
Available for pickup in the Dallas Design District, Dallas, Texas See less