Dutch Art Deco Painting by E.Van Offel - Nude with Red Dress

This  Art Deco era painting by Edmond Van Offel comes from his home in Antwerp. He was born in 1871 and is well known as an artist of the Art Nouveau and Belle Epoque periods but his long career in art evolved into the Deco period and beyond. He was a poet, painter, graphic artist and story-teller.

“Above all he was an artist par excellence. He lived by and for art. He was an esthete who found inspiration in symbolism, but much more so in the English Arts and Crafts movement and the work of  William Morris . It is no coincidence that Edmond Van Offel has been the driving force behind the bibliophile yearbooks that issued the artists group The Scalden from 1897 to 1914. It is curious that the Antwerp artist has historically  been reviewed as a poet and writer”

Less has been written about his work as a painter and graphic designer, however, it is in this area that his artistic talents to come into its own right and has the greatest merit. His  posters, postcards, school boards, and especially his illustrations of hundreds of books, including many children’s books, has given  him an important  place in art history”.

The nude holding the red dress was painted in 1927 and was a departure in style from the work he is most known for – art nouveau illustrations and woodcuts.  It is a striking oil painting and a rare example of Van Offel’s work and bears the emblem on the reverse of Fr.De Leeuw, art dealer and gilder.