Jules De Bruycker

Jules De Bruycker (29 March 1870 – 5 September 1945) was a Belgian graphic artist, etcher, painter and draughtsman. He is considered one of the foremost Belgian graphic artists after James Ensor and achieved a high level of technical virtuosity. He is best known for his scenes of his home town Ghent, architectural views of cathedrals, war prints and book illustrations.

Jules De Buycker was born in Ghent. His family operated a small upholstery and wallpapering business. As De Bruycker displayed artistic talent from an early age, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent when he was 10. When his father died four years later, he ceased to attend art classes and joined the family business. He continued to hone his artistic skills without formal training. After an interruption of 9 years, De Bruycker enrolled again at the Ghent Academy. His teachers included the painters Théo Canell, Louis Tijtgadt and Jean Delvin.

In his early years as an artist (from 1902) De Bruycker took up lodgings at an abandoned Carmelite abbey in the district across from the Gravensteen called the Patershol. This was at the time an impoverished area and it had attracted artists and bohemians who had moved there from about 1900. Many of the artists who would become part of the School of Latem such as Gustave van de Woestijne, George Minne and Valerius de Saedeleer converged on this area and George Minne even maintained a studio there for some time.

Even as a member of this bohemian artist community in Ghent, De Bruycker continued to work in the family business during this period. While he made many watercolours and oil on canvas paintings in his early days, he developed an interest in printmaking after discovering in 1905 the etchings of the Ghent artist Albert Baertsoen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent. Albert Baertsoen was known for his prints of city views of Ghent. These showed the city bathed in a dreamy atmosphere and a style which was close to symbolism.

De Bruycker also made many drawings of scenes in the less privileged quarters of Ghent. An example is the Around the Gravensteen in Ghent in which he depicts the area around the Gravensteen in Ghent in images reminiscent of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Hieronymous Bosch and his contemporary James Ensor.

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