Leemputten, Cornelis Van

Cornelis (Cornelius) van Leemputten was born on January 25th of 1841 in Werchter near Louvain, a small village in Belgium, to Jean-François van Leemputten and Maria Catharina van Cleynenbreugel.  Originally a farmer, his father moved to Brussels in 1852 where he began to restore paintings and pursue his interests as an artist.  It was from him that both Cornelis and his brother Frans Van Leemputten (Belgian, 1850-1914) studied informally and both brothers were predominantly self-taught, using nature as a classroom to practice their art.  Cornelis went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp from 1855 to 1860 where he was influenced by Mauve and the animal painter Charles Jacque.  He began exhibiting with some success including gold medals in Ghent in 1883, in 1886 in Edinburgh, in Port Adelaide in 1887 and Berlin in 1896; he further exhibited in Antwerp, Brussels, London, Munich, Bordeaux, Algiers, Chicago and won a gold medal in New Orleans.  In 1895 he was awarded the position of Chevalier of the Ordre de Léopold.  The body of his work focused on animals and landscapes, usually with a combination of both.  These were sometimes executed in collaboration with David Col, who would often paint the people while the animals were handled by Cornelis - one such work was carried by our gallery and is still available in the archives.  He died on November 23rd of 1902 in Schaerbeek.

Literature & Artist Listings:

• E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. XIII, Gründ, 2006, p. 716 [biographical, auction records]
• Dictionary of Belgian Painters Born Between 1750 & 1875, Berko & Berko, p. 703 [various works, biographical]
• Popular 19th Century Painting, A Dictionary of European Genre Painters, Hook & Poltimore, 1986, p. 236, p. 240, p. 258 [various works]