Victor Lagye

Victor Lagye (20 June 1825, in Ghent – 1 September 1896, in Antwerp)[1] was a Belgian painter and illustrator best known for his genre paintings and history scenes.

According to some sources he was a member of the 'university bataillon' under the command of Charles Albert of Sardinia and afterwards acted as volunteer in Garibaldi's Army during the revolt in Rome at the end of 1848, which led to the foundation of the Roman Republic.

[7] Leys had distanced himself from the pathos and historical anecdotes of the Romantic school and the Rubens' influenced style of de Keyser.

For the national celebrations of 1856 he produced a large canvas depicting the Apotheosis of the Queen for the triumphal arch.

For the celebrations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Belgian state, Lagye designed the floats for the parade in Brussels together with Joseph Gerard and Gustaaf den Duyts.

[13] In 1861 the Belgian state made a deal with the management (de Kerkfabriek) of the St Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent.

Pursuant to the deal the Kerkfabriek sold the Adam and Eve of the Ghent Altarpiece of Jan and Hubert van Eyck to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and in return, the Kerkfabriek received: (1) 50,000 Belgian Francs for the glass windows in the cathedral choir; (2) the copies of the side panels painted by Michiel Coxie in the 16th century, and (3) a state stipend to pay a painter to produce copies of Adam and Eve tailored to the good taste and customs of the time.

He started as a typical representative of the late-Romantic style as developed in Belgium by pupils and teachers of the Antwerp Academy.

[3] In particular, the influence of Lagye's teacher Henri Leys remained paramount at the academy throughout the second half of the 19th century in style as well as subject matter.

[19] The teachers at the academy encouraged their students to study the antique, draw precisely and stick to the sober and somber palette typical of 19th century academic painting.

[3] Lagye was criticized by some art historians for being a slavish follower of Leys but with less imagination and technical skill.

[2] Lagye also painted some portraits of fashionable women such as the Young woman resting on a park bench (Hôtel de Ventes Horta Brussels auction of February 2018 lot 213).

[22] Lagye also flirted with Orientalism and created various compositions depicting scenes from old Egypt such as The lyre (Sotheby's New York auction of 1 February 2018 lot 863).