​VICTOR  SERVRANCKX
Major avant-garde & surrealist artist

VICTOR  SERVRANCKX  (Diegem 1897 - Vilvoorde 1965)
Belgian avant-garde artist, colleague and friend of René Magritte, Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Filippo Marinetti, Van Doesburg, Moholy-Nagy etc.. undoubtedly one of the major Belgian artists of the XXth century whose works feature in the permanent collections of MOMA New York, Yale University, Centre Pompidou Paris, Grenoble, Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid, Lisbon, Ludwig museum Vienna, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Lehmbruck museum Duisburg, Sprengel museum Hannover, Mönchengladbach, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,
​Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend etc.
All oil paintings and sculptures on this webpage will feature in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné by Xavier Tricot.

June 1922 : René Magritte, E.L.T. Mesens, Servranckx, Pierre-Louis Flouquet, Pierre Bourgeois
​Georgette Berger-Magritte, Pierre Broodcoorens, Henriette Flouquet
READ MORE about Servranckx in the 1920's.

Servranckx was highly appreciated by many great contemporaries such as
Marinetti, Léger, Duchamp, Moholy-Nagy, Herbin, Herwarth Walden, Léonce Rosenberg etc..

​"Opus 3"  1911, violet pencil & collage (string) on paper, 27 x 21 cm
​Signed SER  VRANCKX below left and XKCNARV  SER below right
Servranckx made this work during his studies at the age of 14.
Many of these early works have been lost, this is a rare "survivor".
​Exhibited at the Ixelles Museum, Servranckx retrospective, 1965, cat. no 2
​Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]

"Opus 1" 1921, bronze, 30 x 40 x 30 cm
Collection of MUZEE, Ostend
"Expression de plénitude dans la tendresse. Compénétration d'espace négatif dans le temps, quatrième dimension.
​Compénétration d'espace et de durée. Totalisation d'espace-durée." - Victor Servranckx

"Opus 1" 1921, onyx marble, 41 x 37 x 37 cm
​Signed Servranckx and dated 1921 on the base at the left. Unique piece.
READ MORE
Available. ​Contact us for more information
​Call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected] 

"Blue maternity" 1921, watercolour on cardboard, 41 x 24,5 cm
Exhibited at the Ixelles Museum in 1965, cat. no 34
​Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]

"Opus 6  1922", oil on canvas, 46,5 x 37,5 cm
Exhibitions :
Galerie Royale, Brussels, 1924 (first solo exhibition of the artist)
Ixelles Museum Brussels, 1965
Knokke, Studio Prisma - Galerie Rivage 1967 
Knokke, La Réserve 1988, illustration in the catalogue
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels 1989, illustration in the catalogue
​SOLD

Composition 1922, Gouache (Sold)
​"Le premier qui pratiqua l'art abstrait en Belgique fut Servranckx"   Michel Seuphor

Invitation card for the artist's first important solo exhibition at Galerie Royale, Brussels 1924 featuring more than 100 works.

Invited by Marcel Duchamp, Servranckx participated in the "International Exhibition of Modern Art", organized in 1926-27 by "Société Anonyme" at the Brooklyn museum in New York.  "Société Anonyme" had been created by american artist & mecenas Katherine Dreier and by Marcel Duchamp. Later Miss Dreier bequeathed her collection of modern art to the Yale University Art Gallery.

Cover of the famous Berlin magazine "Der Sturm" edited by Herwarth Walden, 1928
The painting on the cover belongs to the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris

"Rotative rouge" 1922, oil on canvas, 72,5 x 57,5 cm
​Collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris

"Opus 8  -  Construction mécanique 1922" , oil on canvas, 72 x 98 cm
Sold at Christie's Paris in april 2024 for 403.200 Euro premium included

"Opus 9  1924", Oil on canvas, 70,5 x 58 cm
​Sold at auction house Grisebach Berlin in december 2022 for 312.500 Euro premium included.

"Cosmic vision" 1927, pencil on paper, 21,6 x 29,5 cm, collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York
​Michel Seuphor wrote that Servranckx was a visionary artist and cosmic poet painting his metaphysical obsessions.
​Click here to view available drawings by the artist

"Composition 1927", gouache, 55,5 x 39,5 cm
Exhibited at Musée d'Ixelles, 1965, cat. no 108
​Available

 "Opus 10   1928 - Clouded marble-marbled clouds" Oil on canvas, 46 x 37 cm
In 1928 Herwarth Walden exhibited Servranckx at Galerie Der Sturm in Berlin
​Exhibited at Ixelles Museum Brussels in 1965, cat. no 114
​SOLD

"Opus 2  1927, - The water realm", Oil on panel
​Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp

Invitation card for the Servranckx exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 1929
At the same time the PBA hosted an exhibition of James Ensor.

Solo exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 1929, featuring more than 100 works.
When James Ensor visited the exhibition he declared "Servranckx, l'ami au coeur joyeux, au regard franc.
​Je vous dis, un jour Servranckx sera plus grand que moi et ses oeuvres auront plus de valeur que les miennes ".

"Opus 20  1931 - Life starts mysteriously" , Oil on canvas  70 x 58 cm
The artist's thumbprints appear in the circle at the upper right
Servranckx, who was fascinated by scientific discoveries, makes us look at the origins of life through a microscope.
Exhibitions : "Les artistes musicalistes" in Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, Brno, The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam,  1936, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, 1947, the Corcoran Gallery of Art Museum, Washington D.C., 1963, Denver Art Museum 1964, San Francisco Museum of Art 1964, St-Louis City Art Museum 1964, Ixelles Museum 1965, cat. no 126, Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, 1989, full page illustration in the catalogue.
In 1931 Servranckx exhibited together with Kandinsky, Baumeister & Schwitters at Galerie "Das Neue Frankfürt".
Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]

Exhibition in Budapest 1936
​"Life starts mysteriously" is below right

In 2019 Group 2 Gallery organized a one-man show of the artist under the patronage of Mrs Anne Adriaens-Pannier,
Honorary curator of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium
DISCOVER THE SHOW ON RING TV
READ PRESS ARTICLE

Mrs Anne Adriaens-Pannier opening the Servranckx exhibition at Group 2 Gallery in 2019.

"Opus 9  1927", Oil on canvas 130 x 205 cm
With reference to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, this major work could be called "1927 a Space Odyssey"
​Sold for hammer price 220.000 Euro at Lempertz, 2017

​"Opus 7  1930",  Oil and wood on panel (rare mixed media - collage)  70 x 90 cm
Exhibited at Ixelles Museum, 1965, cat. no 118, illustration in the catalogue.
Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, 1989, illustration in the catalogue.
The experienced viewer will discover affinities with the work of Max Ernst
​Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]

"Opus 2   1933 - Portrait of Mrs Ch. B.", ​Oil on canvas, 58 x 45 cm
The cloudy background upper left is in perfect harmony with the ladies' haircut
​Available

"Opus 12  1941 - Voluptuous mating of 2 snails - Accouplement voluptueux de 2 escargots", Oil on canvas, 33 x 41 cm
​Exhibited at Ixelles Museum in 1965, cat. no 146
​SOLD

"Opus 14   1941 - Wheat threshing machine", Oil on panel, 23 x 28 cm
Exhibited at the Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, 1947
​and at the Ixelles museum in 1965, cat. no 147
​SOLD

"Wheat - Le blé coupé" 1945, Oil on cardboard
Exhibited at Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, 1947
​Private collection

"The passionate tree - l'arbre passionné" 1945, Oil on cardboard, 35 x 33 cm
A surrealist work featuring interesting details for the attentive viewer
Exhibited at "La Réserve" in Knokke, 1988.
Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]

Invitation card for the exhibition HERBIAN - SERVRANCKX at Galerie APOLLO, Brussels, 1946

Catalogue of the Servranckx exhibition at Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 1947.
​Preface by the famous parisian art dealer Léonce Rosenberg :
"Nous avons été heureux de retrouver chez Servranckx les qualités que nous avons toujours constatées dans son art et qui peuvent se formuler ainsi : originalité, noblesse, style et conscience"

Léonce Rosenberg admiring "Opus 47  1923 - Exaltation of the machine" at Galerie Apollo in Brussels, 1946.
Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.
At his right is "Opus 1945  1923 - The couple", collection of the Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna

​Catalogue of the Servranckx exhibition at Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 1947.
​Preface by the famous art dealer Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947), founder of Gallery "L'Effort Moderne" in Paris.
"Nous avons été heureux de retrouver chez Servranckx les qualités que nous avons toujours constatées dans son art et qui peuvent se formuler ainsi : originalité, noblesse, style et conscience"

"Opus 5" 1947, oil on canvas, 75 x 60 cm
Exhibited at Ixelles museum, 1965
Available

"The Pelican", 1947, a rare Pastel on fabric, 43 x 31 cm
​Exhibited at Ixelles museum, 1965
​Available

​"The Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau mountain range" (Interlaken, Switzerland) 1948
​Oil on panel, 34 x 41 cm, Private collection
Painted by the artist on his way to the Venice Biennial in 1948

"Opus 18" 1949, Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 41 x 33 cm
​Exhibited at the Ixelles Museum, 1965
​Available

"Opus 20  - Purple oval" 1949, Oil on canvas, 41 x 33 cm
​Exhibited at Bruges Concert Hall, 1958, Ixelles Museum, 1965
​Available

"Opus 5  1950 - Shock - Choc", Oil on canvas, 40 x 32 cm
Exhibited at the 5th "Salon des Réalités Nouvelles", Paris 1950,  the Ixelles museum in 1965, cat. no 191
​SOLD

"Opus 5  1952 - The magic of dawn and dusk - Magie d'aube et de crépuscule", Oil on canvas, 146 x 92 cm
Exhibited at the "7th Salon des Réalités Nouvelles" Paris 1952, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels in 1989
​Available

"Opus 8  1954", Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 48 x 42 cm
​Exhibited at the Ixelles Museum, 1965
​Available​

The artist in 1958

"Opus 2 - 1963", Oil on canvas, 204 x 61 cm
One of the artist's last works, a synthesis of his long career
Exhibited at the Antwerp Hessenhuis 1964, Fine Arts Museum Mons, 1965, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels 1966
​Available

The artist and art critic Maurits Bilcke at the opening of his last solo exhibition, Ixelles museum, 1965.
"The water realm" 1927, collection Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

View of the Servranckx exhibition at Group 2 Gallery in 2019

Click here to view available drawings

M. Bilcke, Mrs Gailliard, Servranckx, J.J. Gailliard

Servranckx, Jean-Jacques Gailliard

Victor Servranckx, born in 1897 in Diegem near Brussels made his first abstract work, a gouache/collage, in 1915. From 1913 to 1917 he studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Brussels where he had Constant Montald and Adolphe Crespin as Professors and a.o. René Magritte and Flouquet as fellow students. In 1917 several of his non-figurative works were exhibited at Galerie Georges Giroux in Brussels. Artist Michel Seuphor, author of "Abstract art in Flanders", wrote that this was the very first exhibition of abstract art in Belgium. Servranckx was in touch with international masters such as Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and the italian futurist Filippo Marinetti. After an important solo exhition in 1924 at Galerie Royale in Brussels, the artist was invited by Marcel Duchamp to participate at the International exhibition of Modern Art organized by the New York gallery "Société Anonyme" in 1927. As a member of the Avant-Garde movement in Brussels, Servranckx wrote articles for the magazine "7 Arts". In 1922 he wrote with René Magritte the manifesto "L’art pur. Défense de l’esthétique". Servranckx gave his works neutral titles (Opus, followed by a serial number), which was in the spirit of the idea of ‘collective art’. In 1925, Servranckx momentarily ceased painting and devoted himself to architecture and design in his studio "Cubist Home". With architect Huib Hoste he designed an office space for the "International exhibition of decorative arts" in Paris. When he resumed painting a year later, he distanced himself from the constructivist style, using a very diverse mixture of styles in his oeuvre. His work became "abstract and cosmic surrealist" whereby organic elements are combined with geometrical forms. In visionary paintings with biomorphic figures, Servranckx experimented with new techniques and materials. However, the design element remained part of his visual means of expression. After WWII, he returned to a formal abstraction and actively cooperated with a new generation of abstract artists such as ​Jo Delahaut and Paul Van Hoeydonck​​. Servranckx participated at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958. He passed away in Vilvoorde in 1965.
Servranckx is rightly considered as one of the most important belgian artists of the XXth century, whose works are found in the collection of important museums in the United States (MOMA New York, Yale University) and in Europe (Centre Pompidou in Paris, Vienna, Mönchengladbach, Duisburg, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent etc..).
In 2019 Group 2 Gallery presented in its tribute show a fine selection of extremely rare and highly unusual works of the artist to the delight of every modern art enthusiast. 

 

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