Painter
Born: Antwerpen 31-07-1886
Died: Oostende 4-01-1952

Permeke is without doubt the biggest among all Flemish expressionists. He wanted to go back to the origin of nature and man. Therefore he neither choose the exotic of Gaugin nor the more threatening atmosphere of the German expressionists. The fishers and farmers he brought into picture are brought back to their essence, they are sublimated and therefore lifted to a higher level. During the economical crises of the thirties, attention for his work diminished and he evolved from painter to sculptor.