Prix Godecharle
The Godecharle prize or the Godecharle contest is a contest for art students, the winners of which are granted a scholarship allocated by the Godecharle Foundation. The conditions for participation are that contestants are less than 35 years old, of Belgian nationality, or members of a country of the European Community who have lived in Belgium for at least five years.
Napoléon Godecharle (1803-1875) created the Godecharle Foundation on the 15th of March 1871 in remembrance of his father, the prominent sculptor Gilles-Lambert Godecharle and with the aim of promoting the education and the career of young Belgian artists, either sculptors, painters or architects.
To this end, the Godecharle foundation organizes every other year a contest better-known under its French name, the Prix Godecharle (the 'Godecharleprijs' in Dutch).
The prize allows young talents, unknown before the award, to become recognized by a panel of experts made up of famous artists. The renown of the contest is based, amongst other things, upon the reputation of the artists who sit on the jury.
The foundation has entrusted a provincial board, the socalled Commission provinciale des Fondations de bourses d’études du Brabant with the management of the contest and the follow-up exhibitions of the works of participants.
The Godecharle bursaries are allocated by this board, on proposals made up by a jury of renowned artists.
The contest
The first contest was organized in 1881. At the start, the competition took place every three years on the occasion of the Salons triennaux des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles in Belgium. Because of the First World War, the contest was adjourned until 1921. Since 1933, it is held every two years.
The laureates win prize money of 5,000 euros, granted in two instalments over two years. In accordance with its founder’s wishes, the winners have to spend this money on travelling abroad in order to improve their education or to conduct research, traditionally in Italy, the ceaseless return to Renaissance sources.
The jury
Many famous painters, sculptors and architects of these last hundred years have accepted to be members of the jury of the Godecharle contest.[1]
Some of them are internationally recognized.
Among them, we can list: Emile Claus, Paul Delvaux, Léon Frédéric, Fernand Khnopff, Constant Permeke, Jean Brusselmans, Louis Van Lint, Victor Bourgeois, Pierre Alechinsky, and so on.
The successful careers of some of the winners also boosted the renown of this contest. These winners included personalities such as Victor Horta, Egide Rombaux, Victor Rousseau, John Cluysenaar, Tom Frantzen, Olivier Leloup, Guillaume Van Strydonck, Éliane de Meuse, Taf Wallet, Alfred Bastien and Isidore Opsomer.
An significant milestone in the history of the contest was the first grant of the prize to a female sculptor in 1921. The winner Éliane de Meuse was only twenty-two years old when she won the prize.[2] and the awarding panel comprised the Belgian symbolist Alberto Ciamberlani, Armand Rassenfosse and the Belgian neo-impressionist Emile Claus. The winning work, entitled Daphnis et Chloé was of an impressive size, i.e. 225 cm by 180 cm, and depicted a naked young couple in an embrace. In his report to the Minister, the chairman of the panel highlighted the stylistic qualities of the composition.[3]
The laureates
The laureates of the Prix Godecharle from 1881 to the present.
| Year | Sculpture | Painting | Architecture |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 | Eugène Broerman | ||
| 1884 | Paul Du Bois | Guillaume Van Strydonck | Victor Horta |
| 1887 | Égide Rombeaux | José Dierickx | Michel De Braey |
| 1890 | Victor Rousseau | Auguste Leveque | Adolphe Kockerols |
| 1894 | Ernest Wante and Eduard Van Esbroeck | Émile Lambot | |
| 1897 | Edward Deckers and Jacques Marin | Alfred Bastien | |
| 1900 | Paul Nocquet | Philippe Swyncop | Paul Bonduelle |
| 1903 | Charles De Brichy | Isidore Opsomer | Joseph Van Neck |
| 1907 | Charles Collard | Joe English | Pol Berger |
| 1910 | Marnix d'Haveloose | Pol Vandebroek | Arthur Smet |
| 1913 | Alfred Courtens | François Pycke | Jean Hendrickx |
| 1921 | Éliane de Meuse was the first woman to win the Godecharle Prize [4] | ||
| 1924 | John Cluysenaar | Léon Navez | Antoine Courtens |
| 1928 | Fernand Debonnaires | Taf Wallet | Victor Maeremans |
| 1931 | Peter Colfs and Maurice Schelck | ||
| 1933 | Pol Van Esbroeck | Jean Vander Loo | |
| 1935 | Geert Reusens | Emile Demey and Renaat Braem | |
| 1937 | Georges Lambeau | ||
| 1939 | Elisabeth Barmarin | Gustave Camus | |
| 1941 | Albert Baisieux | Luc Peire | |
| 1943 | Lode Eyckermans | Maurits Van Saene | Clara Bourgonjon |
| 1945 | |||
| 1947 | André Hupet | ||
| 1949 | Rik Poot | Jacques Lussie | |
| 1951 | Robert Coolen | ||
| 1953 | |||
| 1955 | Christian Leroy | ||
| 1957 | Jean-Pierre Ghysels | Jacqueline Desmare | Jean Wilfart |
| 1959 | Pol Spilliaert | ||
| 1961 | Frans Van Den Brande | Solange François | Jean-Pierre Santenois |
| 1963 | Karel Dierickx | ||
| 1965 | |||
| 1967 | Nathalie Van Lierde | ||
| 1969 | Christine Teller | Johan Baele | |
| 1971 | Wim Mortelmans and Jean-Claude Herman | ||
| 1973 | Christian Rolet | Claude Leveque | |
| 1975 | Marianne Dock | Luke Vanhooren | |
| 1977 | Olivier Leloup | Jacques 't Kindt | |
| 1979 | Eddy Walrave | Herman Maes | Paul Robbrecht |
| 1981 | Tom Frantzen | Christian Kieckens | |
| 1983 | Vincent Rouseau and Lucie Sentjens | Barthel Ritzen | |
| 1985 | Bart Decq | Elsje Lemaire | Luc Van De Steene |
| 1987 | Louis Halleux | Daniel Colin | |
| 1989 | Bart De Zutter | Gery De Smet | Martine De Maeseneer |
| 1991 | Sven 't Jolle | Nico De Gughtenaere | |
| 1993 | Robin Vokaer | Stefan Annerel | Nathalie Vervenne |
| 1995 | Alexandra Jacquet | Yves Lecomte | |
| 1997 | Christina Van Glabeke, Mario Ferretti (mention) | Katleen Vermeir, Xavier Martin (mention) | Peter Swinnken, Pierre Lemaire (mention) |
| 1999 | Alexis Remacle | Sarah Walraet | Pierre Lemaire |
| 2001 | Thijs Snauwaert | Vincent Callebaut and Caroline Voet | |
| 2003 | Denis Mahin | Stephan Balleux, Baptiste Colmant (mention), Vasken Mardikian (mention) | Leonard Gellegos, Evelyne Hamblok (mention), Cedric Libert (mention), Olivier Mylle(mention) |
| 2005 | Nick Ervinck, Cathy Weyders (mention) | Boris Thiebaut, Chiel Lambrecht (mention), Vincent Verscheure (mention) | Pieter D'Haeseleer |
| 2007 | Marie Zolamian | Kelly Hendriks | |
| 2009 | Steve Dehoux | Anna-Maija Rissanen | Chloé Dewolf |
| 2011 | Caroline de Sauvage | Lucie Flamant | Axel Clissen |
| 2013 | Nel Bonte | Pierre Maurcot | Steven Schenk |
External links
- Fondation Godecharle (in French and in Dutch)
- List of the artists and jury members of the Prix Godecharle since its creation
- New York Public Library. Art and Architecture Division. Bibliographic guide to art and architecture. G. K. Hall., 1977.
See also
Notes
- ↑ (French) A. Massin, W. Demulder, P. Bijtebier, Chr. Dehennin et Henri Kessels Les Concours Godecharle ont cent ans 1881-1981 Eliane de Meuse p.36 Dépôt légal D/1981/1758/3 -
- ↑ Benezit Dictionary of Artists Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays, édition refondue sous la direction de Jacques BUSSE, Editions Gründ – 60 rue Mazarine – 75006 Paris - 1999 - Dépôt legal: mars 1999, ISBN 978-2-7000-3049-5 (Tome 9) Meuse de, Eliane, for Eliane de Meuse p. 554
- ↑ (French) Paul Caso, Éliane de Meuse monography, p 7 et (French) Paul Piron, dictionnaire des artistes plasticiens de Belgique des XIXe et XXe siècles, volume 3, p. 235-238
- ↑ (French) Alexia Creusen, Femmes artistes en Belgique XIXe et début XXe siècle, p. 120 – 2007 Publisher L'Harmattan, Paris, France ISBN 978-2-296-03372-6 . This author of this study is doctor in philosophy of styles and scientist assistant at Université of Liège. She contributed to the dictionary of the Belgian women, French title : Dictionnaire des femmes belges – 2006 – Editions Racine ISBN 2-87386-434-6