Life

Louis Pevernagie was born in a village in Flanders at the beginning of the 20th century (1904). He was the father of the painter Erik Pevernagie . The landscapes of the Flemish Ardennes were the inspiration for many of his paintings and gave an idea of Flemish farm life. He obtained a degree of Teaching Education in 1924 but had started his career as a painter already during his studies. He married at the age of 30 and had 2 children. After WWII he moved to Ukkel-Uccle (near Brussels). His ideas and visions were expressed on canvas and on paper, but also in the media as he had become a journalist at Press Agency Belga. He died in Ukkel-Uccle in 1970.

Work

Louis Pevernagie started as an expressionist painter. He mainly used warm colours with a powerful expression. As he was permanently in quest of light he could be classified among the “luminists”. He tried to find a right balance between light and shade and conceived his paintings with intensity and self confidence. His approach was rough and at the same time subtle. He carried out this interesting contradiction in a range of subjects like farmers at work, landscapes, interiors, nudes, flowers and still lives. After WWII he turned to non figuration. Also in the abstract period he kept the power and the vigour of his artistic temperament

Quotes

• He combines the achievements of expressionism and animism with a superb technical treatment of light and with an intimate approach to the subject. With Pevernagie light seems to have invaded his paintings: his images are almost consumed by an inner tension, a fire that subdues the pure material matter. (Norbert Hostyn, Museum of Fine Arts, Ostend)

• His period between 1920 and 1950 can be qualified as expressionist. After 1950 he turned to abstraction. He applies the technique of impasto. (Benezit Dictionary of Artists
  Benezit Dictionary of Artists
  The Benezit Dictionary of Artists is an extensive publication of bibliographical information on painters, sculptors, designers and engravers created primarily for art museums, auction houses, historians and dealers...
  
  , Paris)

• Louis Pevernagie worked independently of all styles and directions and left us a wide-ranging production. He was an intuitive painter who experimented with many colors. In the course of his artist’s life he evolved from expressionism to abstract art. (Knack
  Knack (magazine)
  Knack is a Belgian weekly newsmagazine covering local news, sports, business, jobs, and community events.It was founded in 1971 and quickly grew out to be a leading Belgian magazine. Currently it has a circulation of about 121.780....
  
  )

• His play with color is reflected in his rural paintings and still lives, later in abstract compositions as well. He very often created chiaroscuro effects, mainly in a number of intimate interior scenes. (De Tijd
  De Tijd
  De Tijd , formerly De Financieel-Economische Tijd , is a Belgian broadsheet newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics...
  
  )

• We can discern an interesting and passionate expressionist work with the quality that we recognize with the masters of Sint-Martens-Latem. This artist has revealed himself from 1925 as an excellent expressionist. From 1949 he was to be seduced by the abstract adventure. (A. Viray)

• The personality of Louis Pevernagie is marked by his intense passionate nature, the balance of passion and introspection, the precision of expression, the “monumental simplicity” of the outline, the strength of the colouring, the effect of light that subtly transposes things. His paintings are overwhelmed by deep forces. G. De Knibber