Jean-Baptiste Degreef
Belgian, 1852-1894
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Jean-Baptiste Degreef, born December 15, 1852 in Brussels and died December 19, 1894 in Auderghem (Brussels), was a Belgian painter.
Jean-Baptiste Degreef began his career as a painter-decorator. He studied at L'Effort, and with Joseph van Severdonck and Paul Lauters at the Académie de Bruxelles. He is a friend of Guillaume Vogels.
His art is influenced by Impressionism. He spent some time in the Netherlands, on the banks of the Scheldt and Meuse rivers. He focuses on the subtle, fleeting aspects of light. His touch is frank and spontaneous.
He discovered Rouge-Cloître in the 1870s, in the company of his elder brother Hippolyte Boulenger (1837-1874), founder of the Tervueren School. He moved there in 1883, where he spent the last eleven years of his life. His talent was highly prized at the time, but he was unable to provide for his family. The strength of his temperament and the sensitivity of his canvases influenced young artists such as Alfred Bastien (1873-1955) and Joseph François De Coene (1875-1950). He immersed himself in the tranquility of the Rouge-Cloître site to create Belgian native impressionism.
He died on December 19, 1894 at the former Rouge-Cloître Abbey, in the building that today houses the Art Center.