Still life - Hubert Bellis (1831-1902)

An oil on canvas measuring 58X48 cm (sold without frame) representing a pier of flowers signed at the top right.

Josse-Lambert (Hubert) Bellis, born in Brussels on January 6, 1831 and died in Schaerbeek on April 16, 1902, was a Belgian painter and decorator. He mainly produces still lifes. Son of Jean Lambert Bellis and Jeanne Marie Possé (or Gossé), Hubert Bellis studied from 1846 to 1857 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels where he was a pupil of François-Joseph Navez and Henri de Coene. Bellis marries Ernestine Josephine Haentjens and sets up as a decorative painter. He founded a company with his brother Charles-Louis in 1857 at n° 31 quai au Bois à Brûler in Brussels. In 1858, he created L'Effort, a free workshop for painters on the first floor of the company. The future renowned painter Guillaume Vogels was hired as a decorator by the Bellis brothers. He became a student of the school of painting, just like among others Jean-Baptiste Degreef. Bellis travels a lot, both in Belgium and abroad, for the realization of contracts related to his company. In 1883, he traveled to Amsterdam in the company of James Ensor and Guillaume Vogels. Hubert Bellis gained notoriety after 1875 with his realistic still lifes and some portraits. His still lifes are composed of flowers, fruits and shellfish. His early productions were more conventional. As his career evolved, he freed himself from overloaded compositions and painted unadorned still lifes. These new compositions reinforced his fame. He painted roses, geraniums or chrysanthemums in dirty brown pots, freshly caught sea urchins and prawns on simple plates, or the remains of a carnival party.