Immerse yourself in the fabulous world of Flemish painter Nicolas Eekman at the Museum of Flanders in the North

Following a renewed donation from his daughter Luce Eekman, the Cassel Museum is honoring Nicolas Eekman with a major retrospective until September 8, 2024.

Nicolas Eekman, the son of Dutch parents, was born in Brussels in 1889, in the house where the then exiled Victor Hugo began writing the novel Miserable. After training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he received a diploma in architecture, he moved to Paris in 1921 and from then on continued to exhibit in France and abroad.

Eekman, a figure in the artistic life of Montparnasse, frequently met with all the artists of the interwar period: Chagall, Dali, Picasso Léger and Ernst. He became friends with Signac and especially with Mondrian. The only time the Dutch painter exhibited in Paris was with his friend Eekman in 1928. While the first, which revolutionized modern art, has passed down to posterity, the second, with its unique style, has been somewhat forgotten.

Nicolas Eekman lived and worked in his neighborhood until his death in 1973 at the age of 84. He was a painter and engraver with a decidedly fantastic universe, whose work fell outside the artistic paths of the time.

“The originality of his art lies in the reinterpretation of the masterpieces of Flemish masters such as Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder or his contemporary James Ensor“, Cécile Laffont, director of the Flanders Museum in Kassel, told France 3 last December. “In his paintings we discover his playful spirit, full of imagination and even a penchant for the supernatural.

This retrospective follows a renewed donation in late 2023 of seven paintings and two inks from his daughter Luce Eekman. In 2020 she had already donated around twenty works to the museum. The exhibition also includes other loans from the Piscine de Roubaix, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille or from private collections, including that of Luce Eekman.

“The Fabulous World of Nicolas Eekman”, until September 8, 2024.
Museum of Flanders, 26 Grand’ Place 59670 Cassel. Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prices 4/6 euros