Pierre Olivier Joseph Coomans

Biography of Pierre Olivier Joseph Coomans ( 1816-1889 )

Pierre Olivier Joseph Coomans was a Belgian painter, illustrator and engraver. He was born in June 1816 in Brussels. Student of Pierre de Hasselaere at the Academy of Gand and then of Nicaise de Keyser and of the Baron Wappers at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Anvers, he specialized in history painting and genre scenes.

In 1841, he exhibited « The Fall of Jerusalem by the Crusaders » and achieved great success, as well as with « The Battle of Absalon » in 1842.
Between 1843 and 1845, he was sent by the Queen Louise-Marie of Orleans in Algeria to join the French army in Kabylie. There, he worked for the general Marechal Thomas-Robert Bugeaud and met the painter Horace Vernet. Coomans brought numerous sketches back from his journey, making his first steps in orientalism. These sketches gave birth to « Arab Women dancing », « Landscape of the province of Constantine » but also « Battle of Attila in the catalaunic fields ». He is considered Belgium's first Orientalist painter.

In 1854 and 1855, he joined the general Aimable Pélissier and worked during the Crimean War as a military painter, making studies for « The Battle of Alma » in 1855. 

After this military painting career, he established himself nearby Naples and was fascinated by the ruins of Pompei. This discovery changed his painting and his topics. He gradually left Orientalism for genre and family scenes inspired by antiquity.  

After visiting Greece and Turkey, he moved to Paris in 1860 where he developed a classic and academic style. He frequently exhibited at the Salon where he was particularly noticed for his painting « The Dream ». 

Coomans also illustrated books like « The History of the French Revolution », « My prisons » by Sivio Pellico, « The Belgian depicted by themselves » or « The History of Belgium » written by his brother, Jean-Baptiste Coomans. This work contributed to his great reputation in Belgium. 

Joseph Commans won numerous awards during his career, including the Vermeil Medal in Brussels in 1848, the Gold Medal in The Hague in 1859, and Chevalier de l'Ordre de Léopold in 1870. He was also named a full member of the Société des travaux littéraires et artistiques, on October 17, 1863. That same year, his painting “Le dernier jour de bonheur” (The Last Day of Happiness) was purchased by the Emperor during the Paris Salon. Involved with the artists of his time, he took part in the sale of works donated by French artists to the Chicago incendiaries on May 15 and 16, 1872 in New York with his painting “Une fille de Pompéi”.

His work enjoyed international success, particularly through the distribution of lithographic and photographic reproductions. He ended his career with a trip, at the age of 72 with his two daughters, to Philadelphia and New York, where he painted mainly portraits. He died on December 31, 1889 in Boulogne-sur-Seine, where he lived with his daughters.