Florent Willems

Florent Willems (1823-1905) Sympathetic Friends

"Men of taste have almost worn mourning for Willems. He made his debut with a pretty picture representing a blond woman in a white satin dress, a hundred others wished to place in their galleries the same woman and the same dress. The public who do not buy, but who judge, have ended by imagining that Willems exhibited always one and the same picture; then noticed it no more. Happily for us the commands have ceased, and the artist, who is after all, an excellent painter, has felt need of something else. His two pictures of this year (1L 'Accouche' and La Sortie) show a true advance. The artist has not only regained his commercial value but also a large part of his legitimate popularity..." Edmond, Artists of the 19th Century page 353