Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1886 Antwerp, Belgium

Died: 1954 Jabbeke, Belgium

Year of Migration to the UK: 1914

Biography

Painter and sculptor Constant Permeke was born in Antwerp, Belgium on 31 July 1886. At the age of six, he relocated with his family to Ostend in West Flanders. His father, Henri Permeke, was a landscape painter and restorer who served as curator at the newly established Museum of Fine Arts. Permeke’s artistic training began at the Bruges Academy of Fine Arts (1903-1906) and continued at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent (1906-1908) where he formed connections with fellow artists, Frits Van den Berghe and the brothers Gustave and Léon de Smet, joining them later at the artists’ colony in Sint-Martens-Latem, East Flanders. The year 1911 marked a turning point in Permeke’s career, with his acceptance into the annual Salon van Kunst en Present in Antwerp, which garnered him critical recognition. He married Maria Delaere in 1912.

During the First World War, Permeke served in the Belgian army and sustained serious injuries during the defence of Antwerp, near Duffel. He was then evacuated to England and hospitalised in South Hill Wood, London. By this time his family had settled in England. Following his recuperation, he rejoined then in Folkestone, Kent, where his son John was born. In 1916, the family moved to Chardstock, Devonshire, where they remained for a year. Permeke’s paintings from this period reflect a bright and cheerful perspective on the British countryside. During the First World War, several other Belgian artists sought refuge in England, including Valerius de Saedeleer, Émile Claus, and Jeanne Montigny. Although their time in England was relatively brief, their artistic careers were profoundly influenced by their experiences. The First World War scattered the Sint-Martens-Latem artists’ colony, forcing many into exile, where their exposure to European avant-garde movements ultimately led to the revitalisation of the Belgian art scene in the 1920s (p. 318). Unlike other Belgian artists in exile in the UK, who made less progress during the war years, Permeke developed a powerful visual language (Verleysen, 2018, p. 320). The vibrant colours and depictions of light in his works from 1916 and 1917 clearly show the influence of William Turner, whose paintings Permeke saw in London museums, and his fellow countryman James Ensor, whom he greatly admired (Verleysen, 2018, p. 320). In the UK, Permeke worked in relative isolation and his contacts were largely limited to the other Belgian artists in the country, such as Edgard Tytgat, George Minne, Hippolyte Daeye, and Gustave Van de Woestyne (Verleysen, 2018, p. 320). The connection that Permeke had with the UK was highlighted in a major retrospective held posthumously at the Tate Gallery in 1957. According to the English press at the time, it was during the exile period in Devon that ‘his style crystallised in a number of early works,’ ( Chelsea News and General Advertiser, 1957, p. 6). In 1971, Permeke’s work was also included in the Royal Academy exhibition Nine Flemish Painters.

The end of the war saw Permeke’s return to Ostend. Confronted with the harsh realities of postwar life, his artistic focus shifted. His paintings once again became austere, offering a sombre reflection of the local fishermen’s lives, with themes and style deeply rooted in the Flemish tradition, portraying the everyday experiences of farmers and fishermen. However, his mature style emerged, distinguished by vivid landscapes, bold brushwork, a palette dominated by browns and blacks, and large, expressionistic human figures. In 1921, he held his first solo exhibition at La Licorne in Paris. Between 1922 and 1924, Permeke undertook frequent trips to collaborate with Fritz Van den Berghe.

1929 marked his relocation to Jabbeke, where he built a house that now serves as a museum dedicated to his oeuvre. His work during this period centred on rural life and the landscape. Further recognition came in 1934 with his participation in the Venice Biennale. By 1935, Permeke had expanded his practice to include sculpture, primarily creating busts and nudes, such as Zaaier (1939) and Niobe (1946). During the Second World War, he was prohibited from painting by the German occupying forces, his work deemed degenerate. Tragically, his son Paul was arrested and deported to Germany as a forced labourer. Following the war, Permeke was appointed Director of the National Higher Institute and the Royal Academy in Antwerp, a position he held for a year before resigning. A major retrospective of his work was held in Paris in 1947-48, in which his later paintings exhibit a refinement in drawing and colour. Constant Permeke died in Jabbeke, Belgium on 4 January 1952. Posthumously, several leading commercial galleries in London, including Roland Browse and Delbanco, and Crane Kalman (both with emigre antecedents) exhibited Permeke's work. In 2019 his work featured in: Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol (2019-20). His works are represented in UK public collections, including Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, National Galleries of Scotland, National Trust, and Tate.

Related books

Peter Wakelin, Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art (Bristol: Sansom and Company, 2019)
Cathérine Verleysen, 'Flemish Expressionism in Belgium', in Isabel Wunsche, ed., The Routledge Companion to Expressionism in a Transnational Context (New York and London: Routledge, 2018), pp. 316 -331
Christiane Hellmanzik, ‘Artistic styles: revisiting the analysis of modern artists’ careers’, Journal of Cultural Economics, Vol. 33, No. 3, 2009, pp. 201-232
Trione Vincenzo, Mario Sironi Constant Permeke (Milan: Frederico Motta, 2005)
Willy Van Den Bussche, Constant Permeke 1886 1952 (Waanders: Zwolle, 2004)
Rudy Chiappini, Constant Permeke (Milan: Electra, 1996)
Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, p.585
J. Van Lerberghe, Constan Permeke: Paintings and Drawings (London: Arts Council, 1957)
No author, ‘A Major Belgian Painter at the Tate’, Chelsea News and General Advertiser, 22 November 1957, p. 6
Constant Permeke, Constant Permeke Tekeningen (Brussels: Editions de la Connaissance N. V. Brussel, 1953)
Andre de Riddler, Constant Permeke (Belgium: Paleis der Academinien, Brussel, 1951)
Langui Em, Constant Permeke (Anvers: Sikkel, 1947)

Selected exhibitions

Refuge and Renewal: Migration and British Art (group show), Royal West of England Academy, Bristol (2019-20)
Permeke 1886-1952, Jabbeke: Museum Constant Permeke, Belgium (1993)
Oscar Jespers, Constant Permeke, Provincial Museum, Jabbere, Belgium (1988)
Ensor to Perneke: Nine Flemish Painters 1880-1950 (group show), Royal Academy of Arts, London (1971)
Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture by Constant Permeke 1886-1952 (solo exhibition), Crane Kalman Gallery, London (1966)
Permeke (solo exhibition), Piccadilly Gallery, London (1962)
Constant Permeke: Paintings & Drawings (solo exhibition), Tate Gallery, London (1957)
Paintings by Permeke (solo exhibition), Roland, Browse and Delbanco, London (1950)
Venice Biennale (group show), Venice (1934)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Constant Permeke]

Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.

Constant Permeke artist