Bacchante (Gratie) at Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

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Bacchante: This standing figure was purchased in 1931 by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in bronze and is thus also viewable there. Especially in the hairstyle, you recognize the skilled hand of the wood carver who makes small decorations and details like a chisel was used. Grace: Like 'Bacchante', this figure was created in 1917 in typical Art Deco style and adorned with finery and ornaments. The image is part of the sculpture "Three Graces", which marked the breakthrough for Wijnants. In the picture group, elaborate hairstyles are immediately noticeable. The sculpture group is depicted in Malines at the Haverwerf. Ernest Wijnants emerges as a young and talented carver when he served in the furniture industry as a young man. At twenty years old, he was already foreman. He befriended his fellow townsman, sculptor, painter, and uncle Rik Wouters. His entire work is a tribute to the woman, singing about her thinness, sensuality, opulence, and fertility. He cares less about details than aesthetics, sometimes with a touch of exoticism. His style reflects the pure, silent figures of George Minne and Gothic sculpture. Wijnants Ernest (1878-1964) was a wood carver in Mechelen furniture who trained in the Academy in Mechelen from 1906 and then in Brussels. He had his first solo exhibition in 1911 in Brussels. In 1926, he was appointed professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. From 1931, he taught at the National Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He received awards, including the Prize Edmond Picard (1926) and the Grand Prix of Plastic Arts (1938). In 1936, he designed the coin of one franc, which was in circulation until 1952. He is a member of the Royal Flemish Academy for Sciences, Literature, and Fine Arts (1938) and exhibited extensively at home and abroad.