19th Century Adrien de Braekeller "Mousquetaires"

This painting by the Belgian painter Ferdinand Norbert Adrien, known by the first name “Adrien” de Braekeleer  (1818-1904); it is a scene with “mousquetaires”

Adrien de Braekeleer, born in Antwerp on March 1, 1818 and died in Borgerhout on April 5, 1904, is a Belgian romantic painter specializing in genre scenes, interior scenes and animal representation.

Ferdinand Norbert Adrien, known by the first name “Adrien” de Braekeleer, was born in Antwerp in 1818. He was the eldest son of Jean Ferdinand Joseph de Braekeleer, a locksmith (1783–1863) and Élisabeth Marie Aerts (1790–1845), parents of nine children. Adrien is the brother of Jacques De Braekeleer (1823–1906), sculptor.

His first works were inspired by the Flemish masters of the seventeenth century. It represents scenes from inns (Officer smoking the pipe – Gentleman in a 17th century inn – Card players), artisan activities (The armor store, The printer, The forger) or bourgeois and popular interiors (Mother with two children – Conversation after the meal).

A nephew and student of Ferdinand de Braekeleer, with whom he studied painting and was influenced by Henri Leys, he exhibited at numerous salons in Belgium during the second half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Antwerp and Ghent (in 1874). When a tiger escaped from the Antwerp Zoo on June 7, 1868, and struck a fatal blow to a port worker on his way to work, he was shot by Adrien de Braekeleer and three other shooters. He is therefore decorated with the Civic Cross of 1st Class. The artist then transformed this heroic act into a painting, which is now preserved at the zoo.

While he had already laid down his brushes for several years, Adrien de Braekeleer died, single, in his home, grand-rue de l’Église, 61, in Borgerhout, district of the city of Antwerp, on April 5, 1904 at the age of 86.

His works are present in major museums of Antwerp, Hamburg, Stuttgart, St. Petersburg or Montreal.

Dimensions: 16.5 x 16.5