#Paul-Gustave van Hecke

[another2bohemians]

Bath of Paul-Gustave van Hecke via @theworldofinteriors

[polkadotmotmot]

René Magritte - Portrait de Paul-Gustave Van Hecke, 1928

[netlex]

René Magritte (1898 – 1967) 

In 1924 Magritte began designing posters and advertisements for the couturier Honorine “Norine” Deschrijver and her husband Paul-Gustave Van Hecke, owners of the Belgian fashion company Norine

Arlequinade : une robe du soir par Norine” — “an evening gown by Norine.” (1925)

a woman in high heels pretending to be Lord Lister, the gentleman thief from German pulp fiction, wearing “an afternoon coat created by Norine.” (1924)

Man Ray :  Honorine Deschrijver (1897-1977) and Paul-Gustave Van Hecke  (1897-1977)

[gyscafe]

Frits Van den Berghe / Paul Gustave Van Hecke en zijn vrouw Norine De Schrijver. via art in Flanders

[pwlanier]

Portrait of Paul Gustave Van Hecke and his wife Norine.

Frits Van den Berghe

Art in Flanders

[notesmuseum]

Invitation to Norine Couture collection A-W 1924-25 (anonymous). 

Around 1913, Honorine Deschrijver (1887–1977) met the writer Paul-Gustave van Hecke (1887–1967). In 1916 in Brussels, they started the ‘Couture Norine’ fashion house, known for its avant-garde creations. They commissioned artist illustrations, including by Frits van den Berghe, Léon de Smet, and especially René Magritte. The clientele could try on garments against a backdrop of modern art. Known as the ‘Coco Chanel of the North’, Honorine’s designs for exclusive womenswear were modern and original.

[ashzurite]

Today I dug around for quite some time in my hard drive to find what art work I had actually seen at the Legion of Honor Museum around March 2014. March's trip has been one of the best experiences in my life. This trip meant having to write a compare and contrast paper on Greek statues for my History of Art 1 course, which wasn't a big deal–I’m always down for art and writing papers. I felt transported back in time when I walked into the museums roman-colonnaded entrance with my mum, while thinking all along, "Ok I’m here to get information about a few pieces, and then we can look around and head out after to go to Union Square.” (Hah! I thought wrong. And also for those reading who don’t go to or have been to San Francisco, this is where Legion of Honor, Union Square, and many other awesome places are located.) Once inside the actual building, the lady at the entrance asks me if I wanted to upgrade our tickets to the special gallery exhibition for a couple more bucks. I say sure, what the heck, and we are on our way into one of the greatest museums ever.

I hadn’t ever been to Legion of Honor before and we ended up somehow walking downstairs first (I needed a map apparently) and explored downstairs before looking at the artwork upstairs (the main floor.) About fifteen minutes later I had found the pieces I wanted to write about. Then, I happened to walk into this small dark room–a room full of artwork I was familiar with. These abstracted-line painted pieces were works by none-other than one of my favorite artists, Henri Matisse. I was stunned with what I had just walked into (the Twilight Zone, maybe?) and started looking around and immediately had taken in all his little booklets information and details within his work.  After spending time in there, Mum and I walked down the hallway to an even bigger gallery exhibition of Matisse’s work all the way from SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which at the time was under construction from roughly 2013 (maybe ‘14?) to 2016.) I was so ecstatic because I hadn’t known his work was there at the time. I’m so glad it had been because seeing his artwork made me extremely happy with all the cheerful, vivid colors that Matisse painted with. The one painting that made me completely stop and have a stare down with is “The Girl with Green Eyes.” To this day, this painting is among my very-top favorites. To this day, this painting is among my very-top favorites. There’s so much of a story and meaning behind this painting and if you want to ask me about it one day then go for it–I’ll tell you about what creepy-cool vibes it's giving me. She has asked me questions in a way that I never thought possible. Are paintings supposed to do that? Are they allowed to ask questions? People in general have questioned if there’s a story behind a photo or painting? I can definitely say yes, yes there is. The Matisse gallery had exceeded my expectations as an exhibition in a museum. Nothing will ever top that experience (or the one I’m about to mention.) And his wasn’t even the one I upgraded my tickets for. After basking in Matisse’s glorious masterpieces, mum and I walked out to the special gallery (literally out the doorway of Matisse’s) and the ladies scanned our tickets to this place in time called, “Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art.” So this was one of the times we in my life where I felt literally like thee dumbest person ever for not recognizing 1) these works are from the freaking NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART in Washington, DC; 2) IMPRESSIONISM; and 3) 70 WORKS OF ART from the Post-Impressionists & Impressionists. If I could smack myself 2 years ago and then, I totally would have. I wasn’t expecting to lose it when I walked in. Lose it as in the artwork itself was beautiful and it drew me in mainly for the detail in each piece (which was absolutely phenomenal by the way.) Who knew people could paint so beautifully on a dinky little canvas or show detail within small amounts of brushstrokes? Hah! Let alone create a masterpiece out of it!! There were so many rooms (that I thoroughly enjoyed) and had another great moment where I got extremely art fan-girly because I was about to see my first Vincent van Gogh & Edgar Degas pieces. So of course I took pictures (most of y’all have seen my one of me with my film camera in front of “Bulb Fields” (van Gogh) that I use constantly, because why not?! It's art and it's beautiful!) and ended up standing a mere five inches away from this masterpiece. Among seeing van Gogh and multiple Degas’, there were many artists that were also showcased in the same gallery exhibition. Let me drop a few names: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Gustave Courbet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Vuillard, Eugène Boudin, Jean Louis Forain, and Berthe Morisot (uh what, I didn’t even realize I saw one of her pieces!!! Just died a little bit inside.) And of course there are many other artists I didn’t mention, but are fantastic as well among the more famous ones. Mum and I pretty much spent the entirety of our time just looking at each piece, and then shopping around in the special little store for postcards, prints, books and other miscellaneous stuffs. And I'm adding this small note about the main floor because you can't really not look at it. The work here on the main floor had tapestries and paintings bigger than my own houses walls, medieval armor, chalices, a decked out rococo room from Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette's era, and a really beautiful and detailed bust of Mary, Queen of Scots; and as an added bonus (not really, it's been there. I just felt the need to say this,) there's a mini impressionist room, and two larger rooms filled with Auguste Rodin’s beautifully sculpted works. So the real question here is what did upgrading my tickets do for me in the long run? To start off this long story, as a kid I always wanted to be an artist. An artist who drew exceptionally well, but found out I couldn't draw anything better than stick figures or somewhat decent looking chibi people/animals. So, I accepted defeat and moved on. The only thing I didn’t move on from was being an artist. I still had a drive and never knew what place or type of art it would put me in next. I’ve always been an artsy/craftsy person since I was born (my parents owned a craft business) and I’ve done drama/theatre classes for Sunday school, ceramics, oil and acrylic painting, sewing, and danced (pointe, ballet, jazz, etc.) for 6-7 years. Most hadn't known these fun facts about me, but now you do! Dancing was a small passion of mine that I loved minus the drama; and I’ve always been closely attached to music/instruments–but for me that’s more of an outlet because I never wanted to do it professionally. So yes, all of these are still related in the art world. Around 2008, I finally found my cup of tea. My mum and dad have taken photographs from roughly their high school days to now even (the present, and still take too many. It’s a curse I tell you.) So naturally, I took to a camera like glue and found myself loving to be behind the lens instead of being in front of it. I used to think it was obnoxious for my mum to take so many during dance days it was ridiculous–but I learned to love it and saw what she saw through a viewfinder. I’ve had cameras passed down to me and they're absolutely priceless and well-loved. My dads Nikon FM2 is what I started photographing with, with FILM. What’s that ancient and beautiful world you see? The process of emulsion, chemicals, and magic in a strip of what’s super surreal: film. From 2008 on, I’ve shot with nothing else but the beautiful Bell & Howell camera which was once my great-great grandpa’s. This camera is my life and has been to some pretty fascinating places that I could only hope and dream about to go to one day.  So long story short, photography has been my outlet for many years and I could not thank it more for teaching me about so many amazing photographers and how art related it really is. Photography IS an art form and it IS the only creation that can stop time. Creating moments is what it does best. I couldn't ever thank the camera gods enough for this glorious invention (this goes out to you Niépce & Daguerre.) Along with photography, I’ve always had a passion for painters and their artwork. During my childhood days, (oh wow, throwback to the extreme.) the only person I knew who was the best and an a ultimate painter was Bob Ross, and he's still pretty phenomenal (he’s made out of pure magic.) But, upgrading my tickets made the young dreamer artist that I always wished to be come true. Seeing those masterpieces are what made me want to study Art History and become an Art Restorer. I will never lose my photography drive because to me, that’s my creative outlet and I will always go back to it. It has helped me and will continue to help me in my Art History career. After struggling with disabilities and obstacles for 6 years in a junior college, I feel that I’ve completed and achieved double-majoring in Photography and Art History (AA degrees) to be a huge accomplishment that I never dreamed was possible. And now, here I am figuring out how, (as an adult) to continue my dream. Finding a job and a CSU hasn’t been easy, as I have 15 difficult choices of colleges which I can possibly attend to change my life. And this last tidbit (I promise) is where I ultimately thank God for letting me be born in October. And most people will probably laugh at this statement, but I’m truly thankful. Libra’s are known as go-getter’s and being involved in the artistic, librarian or judicial world. I’m thankful for my parents for never giving up on me or my dreams; I'm thankful because I never lost my drive of becoming an artist of some sort; I’m thankful for all artists and museums. Without them, I don’t think I could’ve known what or who I really wanted to be in this world. I'm super passionate about art. It’s a way of life and tells so many stories. P. S. To see the artworks I've photographed from the Impressionist gallery in 2014, stick around, scroll through my feed and follow me on vsco or instagram for more art related posts! c:

[mooncustafer]

I thought at first this man was wearing a big rectangular cape but it turns out he was just posing in front of a fireplace.