The sound of the familiar: Rik Wouters’ Red Curtains at the KMSKA
For the first time since its acquisition by the Flemish Government in 2025, Rik Wouters’ Red Curtains is on display in the galleries of the KMSKA. The work features in A Red that Sings. Masterpieces by Ensor, Wouters and Schmalzigaug, an exhibition in which the vermilion reds, bright yellows and intense blues of these three Belgian colourists both literally and figuratively set the tone. While the painting is a fascinating example of Wouters’ engagement with the colour red, this is not the only reason why it has become so iconic.
The Essence of Wouters
What immediately catches the eye are the characteristic vivid colours and intimate domestic atmosphere. At the centre of the 1913 painting stands Wouters’ wife and lifelong muse, Nel, depicted full-length in her famous white-and-red striped dress. She is shown in the couple’s home in Bosvoorde; behind her, an open window reveals a summer landscape.
Nel stands on the tiled floor, framed on either side by the long red curtains that give the painting its title. It is precisely these elements that make the Red Curtains one of Wouters’ most important works: with its intense colours and recognisable setting, the painting encapsulates both his life and his art. It reveals how, for Wouters, the extraordinary resides in everyday life — and it is precisely there that the work derives its strength.
The Acquisition of a Masterpiece
Since 2007, Red Curtains has been included on the List of Masterpieces, making it the eighth work by Rik Wouters to hold this status. Last year, in 2025, the Flemish Government finally acquired the painting. Since then, it has been part of the Flemish Community Collection. This acquisition not only further enriches the collection of the Mechelen painter at the KMSKA and other museums, such as the Museum Hof van Busleyden, but also provides a wonderful opportunity to continue research into the artist’s technique and life.
A Red Melody
In the exhibition A Red that Sings, where the work is on display at the moment, the colors tell an even more layered story. Starting in the 19th century, color artists such as Ensor began working with vivid pigments as a reaction to the soft palette of the Impressionists. This style was soon linked to synesthesia, the neurological concept that colors can also stimulate the sense of hearing and evoke sounds.
So too with Wouters, whose striking use of color reveals precisely the sounds of daily life. From the singing birds outside to the clinking of pots, pans, and sliding curtains inside. That was the music in his ears. Or as his contemporary and art historian Paul Buschmann put it in 1920: “Colours soar and crackle, shapes sway and swoon, patches of light dance and melt in dazzling splendour. See the violence of those Red Curtains, tantalising like the cape of a capeador, screaming against the mosaic of an inner room and a view of a sun-baked garden.”
Curious to experience it for yourself?
A Red that Sings: Masterpieces by Ensor, Wouters and Schmalzigaug can be visited until 30 August 2026. Book your tickets here.
