Maurice Langaskens  ( 1884-1946 )

Belgian painter, printmaker, illustrator and decorative artist, Maurice Langaskens was one of the most sensitive figures of early twentieth-century Belgian art. Deeply influenced by the legacy of Symbolism, Art Nouveau and the traumatic experience of the First World War, his work is distinguished by the refinement of its draughtsmanship and a poetic vision imbued with spirituality.

After spending part of his childhood in Paris, where his family had settled, Langaskens continued his artistic training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. There he studied under Constant Montald, from whom he inherited a taste for monumental decorative compositions, and Herman Richir, renowned for the quality of his academic drawing. His talent was recognised early on, and from 1907 he exhibited regularly at the Brussels Salon, as well as with the Pour l'Art society, the Cercle Artistique et Littéraire de Bruxelles, and at several international exhibitions.

His early works belong to the final flowering of Belgian Symbolism and Art Nouveau. They favour allegorical figures, enigmatic scenes and decorative compositions in which line plays a central role. Inspired by the great decorative artists of his generation, Langaskens developed an elegant visual language characterised by a subtle palette and exceptionally refined draftsmanship.

The First World War marked a decisive turning point in his career. Mobilised in 1914, he was captured by the German army and interned at the Göttingen prisoner-of-war camp until 1918. Despite the harsh conditions of captivity, he secretly produced numerous drawings and watercolours documenting the daily lives of prisoners with remarkable humanity. Published after the war in the album Au seuil du camp (1919), these works are now regarded as some of the most moving artistic testimonies to wartime captivity. Among them, In Memoriam – Burial of a Prisoner of War at the Göttingen Camp remains one of the defining images of this tragic period.

Following the war, Langaskens resumed an exceptionally active career. He produced decorative paintings, landscapes, rural scenes, compositions inspired by Flemish legends, and an extensive body of graphic work. A highly accomplished etcher and lithographer, he became an active member of the committee of La Gravure originale belge, an association that played a major role in the revival of printmaking in Belgium during the interwar years. He also illustrated numerous literary works, including Charles De Coster's The Legend of Ulenspiegel and several novels by Maxence Van der Meersch, where his refined narrative sensibility found an ideal means of expression.

Throughout his career, Maurice Langaskens remained faithful to a deeply humanistic vision. Whether depicting rural life, traditional crafts, religious subjects or memories of war, his works are characterised by remarkable graphic quality and a contemplative atmosphere that extends the legacy of Belgian Symbolism while anticipating a more intimate artistic sensibility.

Today, his works are held in several major Belgian public collections, including the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels and the extensive municipal collections of Schaerbeek, which preserve paintings, drawings, posters and prints by the artist. His wartime works are also represented in the Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, which devoted a major retrospective exhibition to his work in 2003.