François-Joseph Navez

François-Joseph Navez Rest of the pilgrim Oil on canvas. 96 x 71 cm. Signed and dated lower right: F. J. Navez 1853. Provenance Castle" De Koude Keuken", Sint-Andies, Bruges, since then in noble family ownership. Exhibitions Denis Coekelbergs et al: François-Joseph Navez - La Nostalgie de l'Italie, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi, November 20, 1999 - February 20, 2000, p. 158, no. 290. The whereabouts of the present painting were previously unknown. Denis Coekelbergs published it with a black and white photograph in the catalog "François-Joseph Navez - La Nostalgie de l'Italie" and described it as "Repos de la pèlerine - campagne de Rome". The painting was owned by a Flemish noble family for generations and is in its old, original condition. The depiction of mother and son in a barren landscape is reminiscent of the biblical subjects painted by Navez in Rome, in particular his 1820 painting "Hagar and Ishmael" (Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts). However, the influence of David and the Nazarenes is less noticeable in this late work from 1853. François-Josph Navez studied at the Académie royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1803 and won first prize for history painting in 1812. This enabled him to study in the studio of Jacques-Louis David in Paris from June 1813 to 1816. He then spent four years in Italy. In 1821 he settled in Brussels and in 1835 became director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts until 1862. In addition to portraits, Navez also painted mythological and historical scenes. His impressive painting "The Spinners of Fondi" was purchased by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1851. It is now part of the collection of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.