André Hallet was a Belgian post-impressionist painter whose paintings have been exhibited at more than 60 museums worldwide, including the Louvre in Paris, France.

His most well-known paintings are those of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

 and around Lake Kivu (in modern-day Rwanda).

He was initially sent to the Congo by the Belgian government in 1934 and then settled in Kisenyi (modern-day Rwanda), on the shores of Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika...

, in 1947, where he died in 1959.

In 1934 he forged a relationship with the Tutsi

Tutsi

The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....

 king Mwambi Matura III (of Ruanda-Burundi) and painted a series of detailed portraits of the king’s family and court.

Prior to his African period, he painted scenes of southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Capri

Capri

Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...

, and Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, when he traveled through these areas as a young man. This was known as his European period.

His paintings have been sold at auction houses for record prices.

He is the father of Jean-Pierre Hallet

Jean-Pierre Hallet

Jean-Pierre Hallet was a Belgian ethnologist, naturalist, and humanitarian best known for his extensive work with the Efé pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest...

, an internationally recognized human-rights activist (on the behalf of the Efe

Efe

The Efe were the leaders of Turkish irregular soldiers and guerillas from the Aegean Region of Anatolia, called the Zeibeks and Kızan. There are many theories about the origins of the word Efe....

 pygmies in the Ituri forest of the Congo) who also lived in the Congo and Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

and was also an avid art collector.

His paintings have been donated by the André Hallet Foundation for charitable causes, such as to "Medicins sans Frontiere" to aid Cambodian orphans in 1992, and to Association des Anciens du Congo (A.F.A.C), a philanthropic concern for the oldest civilizations still living in the Congo, and to the International Foundation Jacques Brel for cancer research.