The first Belgian abstract painting
In 1914, Jules Schmalzigaug created the first Belgian abstract painting: Development of a Theme in Red: Carnival. It then disappeared from view for 100 years. In 2015, the work resurfaced in Switzerland. Art collector and dealer Ronny Van de Velde acquired the piece there. At the request of the KMSKA, the Flemish government’s Topstukkenfonds purchased the work. The painting will be displayed in the renovated museum, giving it the context it deserves.
A pioneer with flair
In 1914, Jules Schmalzigaug took part in the groundbreaking international Futurist group exhibition Esposizione Libera Futurista Internazionale in Rome. He presented five Futurist paintings, as well as Development of a Theme in Red: Carnival. It was with Carnival that his exceptional talent truly emerged, giving the Belgian abstract avant-garde a new, early, and vibrant starting point. His work is completely different from the better-known geometric abstract style of interwar artists such as Jozef Peeters and Victor Servranckx.
Pure-blood colour
Schmalzigaug wondered where the “red that sings” of Rubens had gone in modern art. He nurtured the ambition to become a modern master of spectacular colours.
I live in the middle of a prism. And the result of that colourful hypnosis? Something fleshly, shivers in the lower belly — a testicular emotion. Why? The instinct of carnival.
Development of a Theme in Red: Carnival is pure free expression, a lively play of unmixed color pigments. Pure-blood colour! Living and working in Venice, Schmalzigaug’s work received no recognition or response in his own country. During World War I, he fled to The Hague, where he took his own life in 1917. Carnival remained behind in Italy.
100 years missing
It wasn’t until late 2015 that the painting resurfaced at a Swiss auction house. All that time, it had remained in a private Italian collection. Thanks to Antwerp art collector and dealer Ronny Van de Velde, the work came to Belgium for the first time. At the request of the KMSKA, Van de Velde recently offered the painting to the Flemish government’s Topstukkenfonds. The Topstukkenfonds has placed the work in long-term custody at the KMSKA, in accordance with Ronny Van de Velde’s explicit wish.
It is in the renovated KMSKA, with Rubens and Ensor as its two main pillars, that Schmalzigaug can take his place in the rich coloristic tradition. This modern master can now finally be fully appreciated at his true value.
