Virginie Bovie
Encyclopedia
Virginie Bovie full name Joséphine-Louise-Virginie Bovie, was a Belgian painter and arts patron. In 1870, she was described as "well known", but she has fallen into neglect in the 20th and early 21st centuries and only seven of her more than 200 works have been located.
and studied drawing first under Frans-Karel Deweirdt (1799–1855) before becoming part of the painting atelier
of Antoine Wiertz
(1806–1865), whose "megalomanic conceptions" she is said to have picked up. From 1850 forward, she regularly exhibited her works at the annual salons of Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent
. These were historical
and allegorical
scenes, portraits
or genre pieces. By the time she was 30, Bovie had executed two large-scale paintings for her parish church.
She began a tour of Italy in 1855 with her older sister, Louise Bovie
, a writer whose collected stories were published posthumously in 1870. Of the 300 Belgian painters, sculptors, engravers
, and architects who traveled to Italy to study during the period 1830–1914, only five are thought to have been women; Bovie is one of three whose presence there is attested with certainty. She visited Rome, Florence, Naples, and Venice, obtaining permission to copy paintings in the galleries of Florence as she did later in Paris at the Louvre
, where in 1858 she reproduced The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault
. Bovie painted several works on canvas drawing on Italian subject matter, including Neapolitan
Woman with Child (1857), and exhibited some of these at the 1866 salon in Brussels and the 1879 salon in Antwerp.
Her father was a rentier capitalist
, and Bovie was able to remain financially independent and unmarried throughout her life. She lived in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
and Ixelles, suburbs of Brussels that were favored by artists. She built a grand maison at 208 rue de Trône, Ixelles, and had Musée Bovie carved into one of the foundation stones. She lived there for many years with Louise, who also never married, and used the house as exhibition space. Her cousin Félix Bovie, a painter, and the sculptor Antoine-Félix Bouré
also showed their works there. In an 1873 English-language guide describing a six-day walking tour of Brussels, the Musée Bovie was noted as near the Musée Wiertz.
Bovie persisted with history painting at a time when it had become unfashionable, but her subject matter shows great variety. Her economic and personal independence enabled her to focus her energies on her career as a painter. The art historian Anne-Marie ten Bokum has conjectured that Bovie was a lesbian.
Virginie and Louise had a third sister, Hortence or Hortense, who married François-Joachim-Alexandre Rouen and appears to have outlived him and both her sisters.
Upon Bovie's death, the state declined the bequest of her musée and allowed its contents to be auctioned off. A catalogue for the auction, held in February 1889, was compiled by Jules de Brauwere.
, and portraits. Unlike the large-scale paintings, the genre works appeal to a bourgeois sensibility and permit a female perspective.
In the first decade of the 21st century, The Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross were still on view at the Église Saints-Jean-et-Nicolas at Schaerbeek in Brussels. These early paintings show the influence of Wiertz and masters of the Flemish Baroque
such as Rubens
and de Crayer
.
Bovie exhibited The Visitation and The Iconoclasts at the Cathedral of Antwerp at the Antwerp salon of 1861. A reviewer remarked:
Through her observation of Venetian masterworks
, her use of color gained warmth and luminosity. During the last decade of her life, she gradually renounced the academic tradition of painting
and her style became freer.
Other known works are the Neapolitan Woman with Child (1857), among those inspired by her travels in Italy; L'affranchissement de l'Escaut
(1863), a drawing in black chalk (pierre noire) and sanguine
that came to auction in Belgium in 2009; and a self portrait
(1872).
Life and career
Bovie was born in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and studied drawing first under Frans-Karel Deweirdt (1799–1855) before becoming part of the painting atelier
Atelier Method
Atelier is the French word for "workshop", and in English is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students and apprentices worked together producing pieces that went out in the master's name...
of Antoine Wiertz
Antoine Wiertz
Antoine Joseph Wiertz was a Belgian romantic painter and sculptor.-Biography:Born in Dinant from a relatively poor family, he entered the Antwerp art academy in 1820...
(1806–1865), whose "megalomanic conceptions" she is said to have picked up. From 1850 forward, she regularly exhibited her works at the annual salons of Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. These were historical
History painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...
and allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
scenes, portraits
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
or genre pieces. By the time she was 30, Bovie had executed two large-scale paintings for her parish church.
She began a tour of Italy in 1855 with her older sister, Louise Bovie
Louise Bovie
Louise Bovie, full name Josine Natalie Louise Bovie , was a Belgian writer. She published a novella called "La Perdrix" under the pen name Marie Sweerts...
, a writer whose collected stories were published posthumously in 1870. Of the 300 Belgian painters, sculptors, engravers
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, and architects who traveled to Italy to study during the period 1830–1914, only five are thought to have been women; Bovie is one of three whose presence there is attested with certainty. She visited Rome, Florence, Naples, and Venice, obtaining permission to copy paintings in the galleries of Florence as she did later in Paris at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, where in 1858 she reproduced The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault
Théodore Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings...
. Bovie painted several works on canvas drawing on Italian subject matter, including Neapolitan
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...
Woman with Child (1857), and exhibited some of these at the 1866 salon in Brussels and the 1879 salon in Antwerp.
Her father was a rentier capitalist
Rentier capitalism
Rentier capitalism is a term used in Marxism and sociology which refers to a type of capitalism where a large amount of profit-income generated takes the form of property income, received as interest, intellectual property rights, rents, dividends, fees, or capital gains.The beneficiaries of this...
, and Bovie was able to remain financially independent and unmarried throughout her life. She lived in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Sint-Joost-ten-Node or Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....
and Ixelles, suburbs of Brussels that were favored by artists. She built a grand maison at 208 rue de Trône, Ixelles, and had Musée Bovie carved into one of the foundation stones. She lived there for many years with Louise, who also never married, and used the house as exhibition space. Her cousin Félix Bovie, a painter, and the sculptor Antoine-Félix Bouré
Antoine-Félix Bouré
Antoine-Félix Bouré , known in his own time as Félix Bouré but sometimes found in modern scholarship as Antoine Bouré, was a Belgian sculptor, best known for his monumental lions.-Life and career:...
also showed their works there. In an 1873 English-language guide describing a six-day walking tour of Brussels, the Musée Bovie was noted as near the Musée Wiertz.
Bovie persisted with history painting at a time when it had become unfashionable, but her subject matter shows great variety. Her economic and personal independence enabled her to focus her energies on her career as a painter. The art historian Anne-Marie ten Bokum has conjectured that Bovie was a lesbian.
Virginie and Louise had a third sister, Hortence or Hortense, who married François-Joachim-Alexandre Rouen and appears to have outlived him and both her sisters.
Upon Bovie's death, the state declined the bequest of her musée and allowed its contents to be auctioned off. A catalogue for the auction, held in February 1889, was compiled by Jules de Brauwere.
Works
The auction catalogue for the estate lists 170 works of art by Bovie, in addition to 71 she had collected. She is thought to have produced at least 204 works, an unusually high figure for a woman at the time, but as of 2005, only seven could be located. In addition to her grand historical and religious paintings, some of which were official commissions, her diverse oeuvre includes scenes of contemporary life, floral arrangementsStill life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
, and portraits. Unlike the large-scale paintings, the genre works appeal to a bourgeois sensibility and permit a female perspective.
In the first decade of the 21st century, The Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross were still on view at the Église Saints-Jean-et-Nicolas at Schaerbeek in Brussels. These early paintings show the influence of Wiertz and masters of the Flemish Baroque
Flemish Baroque painting
Flemish Baroque painting is the art produced in the Southern Netherlands between about 1585, when the Dutch Republic was split from the Habsburg Spain regions to the south by the recapturing of Antwerp by the Spanish, until about 1700, when Habsburg authority ended with the death of King Charles II...
such as Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
and de Crayer
Caspar de Crayer
Gaspar de Crayer , sometimes called Gaspard or Caspar de Crayer was a Flemish painter.Crayer was born in Antwerp. He learned the art of painting from Michael Coxcie. He matriculated in the Guild of St Luke at Brussels in 1607, resided in the capital of Brabant till after 1660, and finally settled...
.
Bovie exhibited The Visitation and The Iconoclasts at the Cathedral of Antwerp at the Antwerp salon of 1861. A reviewer remarked:
They show evidence of substantial studies, a good grasp of compositionComposition (visual arts)In the visual arts – in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture – composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work...
, great feeling for colorColor theoryIn the visual arts, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations. Although color theory principles first appeared in the writings of Leone Battista Alberti and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci , a tradition of "colory theory"...
—all qualities which are grounds for astonishment in a woman and in a century when painting shines with more grace than power.
Through her observation of Venetian masterworks
Venetian school (art)
-Context:In the 15th century Venetian painting developed through influences from the Paduan School and Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of Early Netherlandish painting. It is typified by a warm colour scale and a picturesque use of colour...
, her use of color gained warmth and luminosity. During the last decade of her life, she gradually renounced the academic tradition of painting
Academic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
and her style became freer.
Other known works are the Neapolitan Woman with Child (1857), among those inspired by her travels in Italy; L'affranchissement de l'Escaut
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
(1863), a drawing in black chalk (pierre noire) and sanguine
Sanguine
Sanguine is chalk of a reddish color, often called the true colour of blood. tending to brown, used in drawing, The word also describes any drawing done in sanguine.-Technique:...
that came to auction in Belgium in 2009; and a self portrait
Self Portrait
Self Portrait is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's tenth studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1970.Self Portrait was Dylan's second double album, and features mostly cover versions of well-known pop and folk songs. Also included are a handful of instrumentals and original compositions...
(1872).
Selected bibliography
- Virginie Bovie in Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIXe et XXe siècles (Éditions Racine, 2006), with a black-and-while reproduction of her self-portrait
- Anne-Marie ten Bokum, "Virginie Bovie, een vergeten Brusselse schilderes," Art&fact 24: Femmes et créations (2005) (in French)