Three Young Women at the River, Joseph Meganck (1807-1891)

“Three Young Women at the River”, Joseph Meganck, signed lower right.
Belgian School of the 19th century.
Oil on wood. 50.5cm x 40cm
Stucco frame, gilded with gold, 19th century

Joseph Meganck, born July 9, 1807 in Aalst, where he died March 14, 1891, is a Belgian painter, known for his landscapes, genre scenes and religious subjects.

Biography :

Joseph Meganck was born on July 9, 1807 in Aalst. His parents are Pierre François Meganck, (son Jean-Baptiste Meganck and Josine Van Hoorebeke) and Jacqueline Smet (daughter of Norbert Smet and Anne Thérèse De Smedt), all originally from Aalst.
A student of the Aalst academy, then of Joseph Paelinck in Brussels and finally of the Parisian sculptor Pierre-Jean David d'Angers, Joseph Meganck practiced his art in Paris (1833) where he sold painted copies at the Louvre. He then went to Florence (1835) and returned to settle in Brussels in 1839. In 1846, he made a second trip to Italy. In the first part of his career, he is known for his genre scenes, landscapes and interiors.
Shortly before 1860, his work evolved towards religious painting. His works have since adorned several churches: the church of the convent of the Carmelite Fathers in Brussels, the Saint-Quentin church in Lennik-Saint-Quentin and the church of the beguinage in Aalst. In 1866, he produced a series of paintings intended for the Saints-Jean-et-Étienne-aux-Minimes church in Brussels (1st, 2nd and 3rd stations of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ) and received a favorable review from the press: “This painter, as tireless as he is intelligent, deserves the greatest praise for the truly religious character that he knows how to give to his works. »
From 1875, he no longer appears to produce paintings, although he is still cited as an “artist painter” in Brussels in 1878.

Works:

1830: Hector's Reproaches in Paris, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
1839: Rest of an Italian family, Brussels salon.
1839: Italian landscapes, Brussels salon.
1842: The return of the beggar brother to the monastery.
1842: A day at the villa.
1842: View taken in Taormina.
1845: La Dévote promenade.
1845: Portrait of the painter Julien Ducorron.
1847: Women's dispute.
1848: The Calabrians.
1849: Young woman in the park.
1851: The Death of Queen Louise.
1852: The departure of the fisherman.
1855: Two young women and their dog.
1857: A warning; Italian costumes.
1857: Mount Etna and the ruins of the Greek theater in Taormina (Sicily).
1859: The Holy Family.
1859: The Condemnation of Saint-Blaise, church of the beguinage of Aalst.
1860: Let the little children come to me.
1866: The Presentation in the Temple, Schoonaarde church.
1866: The institution of the Scapular (vision of Saint Simon Stock), church of the Carmelite Fathers convent of Brussels.
1866: 1st, 2nd and 3rd stations of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Minimes church in Brussels.
1866: Way of the Cross, series of 14 paintings, church of Lennik-Saint-Quentin.
1869: Way of the Cross, Audeghem church.
1870: Way of the Cross, Saint-Martin collegiate church in Alost.
1870: The Assumption of the Holy Virgin, church of Audeghem.
1870: Way of the Cross, Saint-Jacques church in Louvain.
1872: Piffari at the Fontaine (Naples), etching.
1874: The Nativity, chapel of the black sisters of Aalst.