Textile worker in Roubaix, fighter for the Free France in Dunkirk, member of the Roubaix Group: the life of the painter Arthur Van Hecke married the developments of the northern region of France during a large part of the 20th century. A Roubaix and Bruges childhood Arthur Van Hecke was born in Roubaix on March 24, 1924 and died in Hondschoote on January 25, 2003. Coming from a poor neighborhood in Roubaix, he did not escape the fate of children from modest families and from At the age of 13, he was sent to a factory as a worker (1)Bruno Vouters writes on this subject “Born in a poor district of Roubaix, this child from a modest family was made for the factory” in La Voix du Nord of February 28, 2003). It is in these words, reported by the gallery owner Raphaël Mischkind, that Van Hecke describes his poor childhood: “I was born in Roubaix, cour Van Welden, rue Daubenton. All I could see was a ten-metre brick wall, a pump, and a collective toilet was at the end of the courtyard.” Van Hecke spent part of his childhood in Bruges, often with his uncle who delivered to his home in a brewery. The images of Bruges that pass by while he is perched on his uncle's horse-drawn cart will mark his aesthetic forever. The key meeting with Jean Masurel and Roger Dutilleul Although he began painting seriously at the age of 12, it was not until after the Second World War – in which he participated as a volunteer within the Free France – that Van Hecke will devote himself exclusively to painting. One day in 1948, when he was 24 years old, Arthur was recruited by the Roubais textile industrialist Jean Masurel (1908-1991) to repair his greenhouse in Mouvaux. In between, he painted in the 40 hectare park where he met Jean Masurel's uncle, Roger Dutilleul (1872-1956). Dutilleul is a patron, collector and he is also the discoverer of Bernard Buffet, the friend and collector of Joan Miró, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Picasso, Amadeo Modigliani, Georges Braque. “The meeting with Roger Dutilleul is the most important of my life. He made me understand things in painting that I was only vaguely intuiting,” said Arthur Van Hecke (2) quoted by Thierry Tuffier in La Voix du Nord. Jean Masurel and Roger Dutilleul took Arthur Van Hecke under their wing. On Dutilleul's advice, Masurel allowed Arthur to devote himself exclusively to painting: he opened an account for him, found him a studio, and supported his family. Arthur Van Hecke will be exhibited with the great artists of his time: the painter, sculptor, engraver, fauvist, cubist Georges Braque (1882-1963), the Russian André Lanskoy (1902-1976), who became a close friend, the cubist painter and sculptor Fernand Léger (1881-1955) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). The Roubaix Group and the Groupe de In the post-war period, Roubaix became an extraordinary cultural center: artists, gallery owners and patrons met there. Several artists then formed an informal group, known as the Groupe de Roubaix. Van Hecke will be one of the most important protagonists of this group which has been active since 1946. Although other artists gravitated around him, the Roubaix Group mainly brought together 10 artists: the painter and sculptor Robert Conte (born in 1925), the painter and poet Michel Delporte (1927-2001), the sculptor Eugène Dodeigne (1923-2016), the painter Jacky Dodin (1929-1990), the painter Paul Hémery (1921-2006), the painter and pianist jazz artist Pierre Hennebelle (1926-2013), the painter Pierre Leclercq (1928-2002), the painter Eugène Leroy (1910-2000), the sculptor Jean Roulland (born in 1931) and Arthur Van Hecke. In 1957, Arthur Van Hecke established himself on the coast and founded the Gravelines Group in 1961 with Jean Bertaux, Jean Castanier and Raymond Picque. The four friends created a print collection in 1975, which was the origin of the Drawing Museum and the original Gravelines print. The museum was inaugurated in 1982 and the Gravelines Group dissolved, the mission being accomplished. The Gravelines Museum of Drawing and Original Prints is the only French museum dedicated to printed works. Arthur Van Hecke will have more than 120 exhibitions there, including more than 70 personal ones. Delivery service: Colissimo Type:Tapestry Style:1970 Genre:Expressionism Theme:Animals