Identity:

A student of the Acadeémie de Bruxelles and l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris Frantz Charlet was a painter of portraits, landscape and genre.

Life:

He apparently knew JW quite well and holidayed with him in Maken and Volodam.

One of the most influential of the new school of Belgian artists, Charlet was one of the eleven founders of the group Les XX in October 1883. Les XX argued against established traditions and invited young emerging artists from outside Belgium to exhibit with them. This included artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, Sargent and Monet as well as JW whose aesthetic ideals they shared. Les XX also believed strongly in the unity of the avant-garde and the inherent links between the different forms of the arts.

Bibliography:

Bénézit, E., Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, 8 vols, Paris, 1956-61; The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 2004); http://www.groveart.com.,http://www.getty.edu/research/ (accessed 2004).