Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren (Dutch: [eːˈmilə vərˈɦaːrə(n)]; 21 May 1855 – 27 November 1916) was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language.

[1] Émile Verhaeren was born into a middle-class French-speaking family in Sint-Amands, a rural commune in Belgium's Province of Antwerp, although he also spoke the local Dutch dialect.

[2] He then studied law at the University of Leuven, where he produced his first literary efforts in a student paper, La Semaine (The Week), which he edited in conjunction with the opera singer Ernest van Dyck.

La Semaine was suppressed by the authorities, as was its successor, Le Type, where his colleagues included Max Waller, Iwan Gilkin and Albert Giraud.

Having earned his law degree, he trained from 1881–1884 under Edmond Picard, a renowned criminal lawyer and influential figure in the Brussels artistic scene.

He made himself especially the champion of the impressionist painters,[2] and his articles brought many promising young talents, such as James Ensor and Fernand Khnopff, to the attention of the public.

In one of these letters, he was described by Maria van Rysselberghe as "a unique personality, a whirlwind with an indomitable character, who didn't bother himself about bourgeois rules and who provoked or overwhelmed everybody by his straightforward directness".

Inspired by the paintings of Jacob Jordaens, David Teniers and Jan Steen, Verhaeren described in a direct and often provocative, naturalistic way his country and the Flemish people.