William Degouve de Nuncques

Suzanne Degouve de Nuncques (née Poulet; the artist's widow. Suzanne was Degouve de Nuncque's second wife, who was previously married to the polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache)
By descent from the above to the present owner, grandson of Adrien de Gerlache

Namur, Musée Félicien Rops; Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum; William Degouve de Nuncques maître du mystère, 2012

Hans Wijgergangs, Ronald Feltkamp and Théo Galle, William Degouve de Nuncques online catalogue raisonné, no. 3.1900.006, illustrated

The panel is flat, even and ensuring a stable support. Ultra-violet light reveals some small spots of retouching towards the right of the upper framing edge and just a few other very minor scattered spots. This painting is in good condition, clean and ready to hang. Compared with the catalogue illustration the colours in reality are more luminous, with more of an impression of depth, and the rocks in the foreground more defined and less pink. Presented in a simple gilt frame.
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Degouve spent just two and a half years in Mallorca, arriving in August 1899, but painted some of his most expansive and colourful landscapes there. Basing himself in the north of the island, he was especially attracted to the island’s dramatic coast line. In the present work, painted in the summer of 1900, Degouve captured the extraordinary pink and white rock limestone formations to be found at Cala San Vicente. In the composition the distinctive rocks emerge majestically from a gloriously placid and inviting sea, while young cedars cling tenaciously to the bare ground above. During his time in Mallorca Degouve de Nuncques struck up close ties with some of the leading Catalan artists of the day, including Santiago Rusiñol and Joaquím Mir. Mir in particular shared Degouve’s love of the area and he, like Degouve, painted some of his most significant works there (fig. 1). Degouve’s friendship with Rusiñol, Mir and other artists from Barcelona ensured a lively dialogue of ideas and exchanges of paintings between Spanish and Belgian artists in the years thereafter.