MUSIN François Belgian School 19th century Marine Ships leaving the port Oil on canvas signed Certificat

Biography

MUSIN François (1820 / 1888)
François-Etienne Musin (October 4, 1820, Ostend / October 24, 1888, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode) is a Belgian painter specializing in seascapes.
His father was a farmer innkeeper, shipbuilder and oyster farmer who had spent some time in a penal regiment for desertion during the Napoleonic Wars.
As a child, he paid more attention to the sea than to his studies.
His artistic talent was discovered when he was locked in the attic as punishment and used a piece of charcoal to draw a view of the Ostend docks on the wall.
In 1831 he received his first lessons from Michel Van Cuyck and François-Antoine Bossuet, who would later become famous for his Vedute, but was still working for the port of Ostend at that time. Later, he participated in the city's Academy of Fine Arts and earned a gold medal in 1835. By that time, he had already gained some experience with sailing ships while tending to his father's oyster beds. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he studied with François-Joseph Navez. At the same time he made drawings of surgical interventions in the operating room of Doctor Louis-Joseph Seutin, with the intention of publishing them in a manual. In 1839 he was drafted into the army, but his father paid for a replacement (a common practice at the time). In 1840, he began exhibiting and moved to Brussels in 1842.
With his career well advanced, King Leopold I purchased two of his paintings in 1845. Because of the interest in his art that existed in England, he spent some time there, he also traveled to Spain and Portugal. He returned home in 1848 when his father fell ill. In 1849, he married the painter Marie-Célestine Gosselin (1826-1853).
After the untimely death of his wife, he gave his share of the family business to his brother Auguste, in return for the studio and exhibition space in the family restaurant. He had also acquired public land where he built the "Pavillon des Dunes", the first structure on the beach, which he rented and also sometimes used as a studio. In 1863, Leopold I built his royal pavilions nearby, which inspired a real estate boom and in 1865, Musin converted the Pavilion into a hotel. It was sold in 1877, demolished in 1879 and replaced by the "Splendid Hôtel" which was destroyed during the Second World War. World War. During these years he traveled extensively, visiting Portugal, the Alps, France, North America and Norway, where he participated in a whaling expedition. All these trips produced many sketches which were elaborated in his studio.
In 1869 he finally settled in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode where he built a huge garden studio, collected maritime antiques and gave his son Auguste his first art lessons. Since Kaiser Wilhelm I commissioned eight marines from him in 1853, royal clients have been an important source of his income. In 1865, two paintings were purchased by the royal family of Württemberg and in 1873, two were acquired by al-Din Naser Shah Qajar.
In 1869, the Museo del Prado purchased his painting "The Shot Cannon - Signal for the Revolt of the Cadíz", and he received the Order of Charles III. Oddly enough, the Belgian government did not purchase his works until 1880. He died of a stroke. His friends and family described him as a fun-loving person who was always in a good mood and ready to tell about his many adventures.
Collections: Municipal Museum of Fine Arts of Ixelles, (Brussels)Kunstmuseum aan zee, OstendRoyal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, BrusselsTown Hall, BlankenbergeSmidt Van Gelder Museum (nl), AntwerpPrado Museum, MadridNational Maritime Museum, GreenwichMuseum of Fine Arts, MontrealSanssouci Palace, PotsdamMuseum of Fine Arts of ReimsChâteau Uppark House.
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