I'm starting with a living monument of Belgian art, that is what can be said about Pierre Alechinsky born in 1927 and today  86 years old. Eccentric as a modern artist should be and one of the founders of the COBRA art movement. It is instructive to see the coverage of this artist over a longer period, featuring work from his early period dated 1950 until his later work of the 1980's. Four works from four consecutive decades showing the path the artist followed to translate the educational impulses from his youth like Picasso towards mature works in abstract expressionism.His works are held in the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the Tate, Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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One of my favourite artist who always worked in small numbers and  in an introvert intimate style is Edgard Tytgat (1879-1957) It is touching to learn about his small publications of illustrated books with  hand coloured woodcuts, he even carved the wooden letters himself to print the text beneath it. A great artist working in the shadow. The story becomes even more interesting when discovering the interaction with his friend Rik Wouters (1882-1916) who sadly died at a young age. Edgard Tytgat visited him on a regular basis and his woodcuts from Rik and his wife Nel are little gems. Rik Wouters made great statues but also a limited amount of etchings. Some of his landscapes remind me of James Ensor.

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Van Mieghem, Verdegem, small masters from a small country and therefor less in the picture They made great art waiting to be discovered again.

Modern art is nothing without Paris and the famous artists it attracted as if it was a honeycomb.  In the tradition of the black-white etchings I can show some great names like Henri Matisse (1869-1954) with a very fascinating work of the Pont Saint Michel, drawn right out of the window of his atelier in the rue de l'abbaye.

The legion of French talented artists is without end Jean Emile Laboureur (1877-1943) is one of the prominent etchers among them

From Marc Chagall (1887-1985) a nice colour lithograph from 'Le Cirque'  but also several nice etchings illustrating Les Fables de Lafontaine. I do like his etched work as it breathes more authenticity then some of his lithographs.

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The war, always the war and a lot of sorrow and grief it brings. Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945) know's everything of it and se hardly overcame the loss of here son in Flanders during the first world war. Here work, sometimes a bit dark,  is an image of social struggle and and anti-war themes.

A sidekick is Linda Le Kniff (1949- ) who has certainly viewed Gustaf Klimt and who's image is only added for the grace and colourful optimism it offers.

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To end, another Internationally known Belgian artist:  Paul Delvaux with his obsession for trains and female nude. His figures look like frozen goddesses in an imaginary world.

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