Lady on the Sofa

Herman Jean Joseph Richir was a distinguished Belgian painter and influential art educator, celebrated for his refined portraits and contributions to academic art in Belgium during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.​

Born on December 4, 1866, in Ixelles, Brussels, Richir was the son of Pascal Richir, a chief engineer of bridges and roads, and Marie Vostes. He commenced his artistic education at the Academy of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, studying under Gustave Biot and Charles Hermans. From 1884 to 1889, he furthered his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels under the mentorship of Jean-François Portaels. In 1885, Richir was recognized as a laureate of the Academy, and in 1886, he secured the second place in the Belgian Prix de Rome for painting, following Constant Montald. ​

Richir’s oeuvre is characterized by elegant portraits, genre scenes, allegorical compositions, and decorative works. He was particularly renowned for his portraits of high society figures, including King Albert I, Queen Elisabeth, Cardinal Mercier, and Countess d’Oultremont. His works were regularly exhibited in major Belgian cities such as Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Ostend, as well as at the Paris Salon in 1889 and 1892. In 1889, he was awarded a gold medal at the triennial exhibition in Ghent for his group painting “La Famille Ward Meulenbergh.” ​
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Beyond portraiture, Richir produced decorative paintings tailored for private interiors and created Art Nouveau-style posters under the pseudonym “Hamner,” an anagram of his name. He also painted landscapes during his stays in Limburg and the Kempen region, often in the company of his friend, artist Emile Van Doren.​

In 1900, Richir was appointed professor of drawing from nature at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, and from 1905 to 1927, he served as professor of painting. He held the position of director of the Academy during several terms: 1906–1907, 1910–1911, 1915–1919, and 1925–1927. Among his notable students were Louis Buisseret and Léon Navez, both prominent members of the both prominent members of the “Nervia” group. ​

Richir passed away on March 15, 1942, in Uccle, Brussels. His works are held in numerous prestigious collections, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the Museum of Ixelles, the Charlier Museum, the National Bank of Belgium (which houses his portraits of King Albert I, Queen Elisabeth, and Governor Eugène Anspach), the Schaerbeek Municipal Collection (“Le Bijou”), and the Emile Van Doren Museum in Genk. ​

Richir’s artistry, marked by technical precision and a keen sensitivity to his subjects, continues to be celebrated for its contribution to Belgian art and its reflection of the cultural milieu of his time.​