This early 20th-century oil painting by Belgian artist Prosper De Wit (1862-1951) depicts a complex of farm buildings in Uikhoven, Limburg.

De Wit worked during a period of great artistic transformation, predominantly led by the emergence of French impressionism. Training during the early 1880s, he was taught in Antwerp by traditionalists who lauded the fine qualities of the Old Masters. This, in turn, led to him snubbing the new ideologies of modern artists and co-founding a traditional painting association known as ‘Als Ik Kan’. The phrase Als Ik Kan is derived from Jan van Eyck’s motto and means ‘as best I can’. It’s indicative of De Wit’s belief that one must work diligently to capture a subject accurately.

However, as the decades passed, it’s evident that he began to embrace the looser ‘plein air’ approach of his contemporaries, as we see here. Painted in 1942, during the Second World War, this particular study was almost certainly done from life and depicts a farm building possibly used as a prison. A French inscription on the reverse is tricky to decipher but appears to explain that Allied prisoners were held here before being marched across the border into Germany where they were presumably taken to German prisoner-of-war camps. It also refers to the Meuse River, which is nearby.

Signed in the lower left and held in a beautiful late 18th-century gilt frame.

Medium: Oil on board
Overall size: 20½” x 17½” / 52cm x 45cm
Year of creation: 1942
Labels & Inscriptions: Lengthy French inscription on the reverse.
Provenance: Private collection, Belgium.
Condition: Artwork presents well. Delicate 18th-century hand-crafted frame with signs of its age. Slight gap between the artwork and frame.
Artist’s auction maximum: £3,450

Prosper De Wit

Prosper De Wit was an accomplished Belgian painter of landscapes and genre scenes. He trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and his works are held in numerous public collections.

Learn more about Prosper De Wit in our directory.