WILLIAM DEGOUVE DE NUNCQUES
MASTER OF MYSTERY

William Degouve de Nuncques (1867-1935) dedicated his life to painting landscapes, always playing with colours and eventually developing his own style in which nightly, urban scenes made place for the bright colours of snowed in landscapes. In 1936 the reviewer Arnold Goffin wrote: "Despite the fact the name and works of the master Degouve de Nuncque's are expensive, they do not receive the recognition they deserve, at least not in Belgium." The present exhibition is the result of a close collaboration between the Kröller-Möller museum (Netherlands) and Musée Félicien Rops (Belgium). Degouves colour palette register serves as buiding principle for the outline of this unique exhibition.

After a brief academic career young Degouve de Nuncques decides to devote himself to the art of painting and shares an atelier with Henri de Groux; an artist with a strong but unstable personality. Fortunately the friendship between both artists is strong enough to survive de Groux's ever changing character. Degouve is able to live of his art and travels a lot. He regularly visits the Belgian avant-garde artistic circles, his work is displayed abroad more often and together with his wife he travels to Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. On several occasions he and his wife present their work together. At the time Degouve de Nuncques concentrates on revealing nature in all his silent and nightly beauty: the moonlight submerges his landscapes in an atmosphere of peculiar uneasiness.

In the years 1890 Bruges and Venice are heaven on earth for symbolist artists and Degouve is no exception. To him these water cities are the symbol of a time standing still, of memories of a long lost golden era and of a sweltering atmosphere bathing in a haze of mystery.

At the end of the 19th century Degouve de Nuncques redefines his position towards the art of painting and decides to leave the nightly scenes and effects for what they are. He turns to using more bright colours and ends up being in love with the bright snow white. The transition from the dark and gloomy Bruges-la-Morte to bright colours takes place during his stay in Spain (1899-1902) and marks the beginning of the evolution towards a high sensitivity, a side effect of using the light in artistic works. Degouve withdraws from city life and starts painting on canvas, first on the Balearic Islands, than on the Brabant countryside and the Belgian Ardennes. In doing so he follows in the footsteps of a great number of artists who turn their back on industrialism and seek refuge into a silent, unspoiled nature.

The exhibition Degouve de Nuncques, maître dy mystère consists of 100 paintings, drawings, exercise books and documents of the Kröller-Möller museum, European museums and private collections. Research for the exhibitions allowed to refine the biography of the artist and is integrated in the exhibition catalogue (existing in a Dutch and French versions) Degouve de Nuncques, maître en mystère.