28 August 2019

Lecture: “Discart in Tangiers”

On Tuesday 10 September 2019 at 19h, at NIMAR, Mr. Theo Kralt will give a lecture about the painter Jean Baptiste Discart. Between 1882 and 1920, Discart has stayed for long periods in Tangiers, where he painted quite a few orientalist paintings. Theo Kralt recently published a book (in Dutch) about this little known painter, discussing his orientalist paintings and Dutch portraits.

Foto pottenbakker

Discart was born on 5 October 1855 in Modena, then part of Austria. After having studied in Vienna, the French-Austrian painter moved to Paris and from there to Tangier. This is probably where he got inspired for his oriental paintings. The paintings from this period (1880 – 1920) depict daily life, including artisans, musicians and traditions.

From 1895 on, Discart lived and worked in The Hague. In the Netherlands, he mainly painted portraits of the higher class and nobility. These portraits express, like his orientalist paintings, sensitivity and commitment to the depicted persons.

Foto Anna Elisabeth van Limburg2

Discart remained fairly unknown in the Netherlands. By publishing his book 'Jean Baptiste Discart, orientalist paintings and Dutch portraits' (Van Gruting publishing, 2019), the author Theo P.G. Kralt has filled this void.

The first copy was offered to the ambassador of Austria in the Netherlands, Dr. Heidemaria Gürer, during a festive presentation at the residence on June 25th 2019.

More information about the book is available in Dutch