Charles Hermans

Charles Hermans was born in Brussels and was a major figure of Realism in Belgian painting of the turn of the century.

Coming from a relatively well-off bourgeois family, he began his training under the tutelage of painters François-Joseph Navez and Louis Gallait. He joined the Saint Luke workshop in Brussels, a space that offered him greater artistic freedom.

Between 1858 and 1861, he settled in Paris to study under the Swiss painter Charles Gleyre at the École des Beaux-Arts.

The following year, Hermans traveled to Italy, where he stayed from 1862 to 1867. He was an attentive observer of everyday life and developed a fascination for the monastic life of monks in Rome, a recurring theme in several of his works from this period. Throughout his career, he frequently traveled to various locations in the Mediterranean region, particularly Spain, which also sparked his interest.

Upon his return to Brussels from Italy in 1868, Hermans became a member of the “Société Libre des Beaux-Arts” which brought together several Belgian naturalist artists such as Charles de Groux, Louis Dubois, Félicien Rops, and Théodore Baron.

During his lifetime, Charles Hermans enjoyed international recognition and he participated to various exhibitions, including the art section of the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris. His works can be found today in several Belgian museums as well as abroad.