7. GUSTAVE VAN DE WOESTYNE (1881-1947) Boerenkop signed 'G.V.D. Woestyne' (top right) oil on canvas Painted in 1911 28 x 32.5 cm. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Piet Boyens. Provenance Private collection, Belgium. Private collection, Belgium (by descent). Between 1910 and 1912, Gustave van de Woestyne, a member of the first group of artists from Sint-Martens-Latem (Belgium), produced a large series of peasant figures in the spirit of Symbolism, with clear references to the art of the Flemish Primitives and Brueghel. The fact that this painter's art was imbued with his own inner life becomes clear in his "Latem"-peasants. The heads are depicted against a sober background of a courtyard or field, often against a golden void. Despite the visual reference to their surroundings, the figures are completely detached, with a strictly drawn silhouette, almost in anticipation. In other words, there is no transition, no connection between foreground and background. As a result, the viewer is constantly oscillating between isolation and coherence, resulting in a feeling of strangeness. Often, the peasant is placed in the foreground and the model's fascinating gaze concentrates all the expression. The figure is then usually cut off by the frame, and a golden background fills the open space to the left and right. What is particularly characteristic of all these beings is the state of timelessness in which they find themselves, and an atmosphere of sacred devotion. The most intriguing feature of these peasant heads is usually the eyes, with many variations in the gaze. Sometimes they are almost completely closed. When the iris is visible, it appears pale or slightly veiled. If the gaze is attentive, it is usually sideways or uncomfortably upwards or downwards. And when the eyes look at the viewer, they seem to be staring inward. They plunge deeper into another world, a world of their own. Who these people are is of secondary importance. A name rarely clarifies the mystery of things. The faces of these peasants suggest a mood that largely reflects the inner artist. A wide range of properties opens up: Van de Woestyne's man - his alter ego - is undisciplined, closed, distrustful, patient, powerless, serene, devout or noble. Above all, the painter wants to show us a person whose gaze is directed inwards and who seeks this strength within himself. In the rigid nature of the peasant population, he finds something of his own withdrawn character, and in return he passes on his "inner solitude" to his models. A deeper understanding is achieved through an attitude of interiorisation. -Piet Boyens-