G. (GEORGE) LEMMEN

Biography

G. (GEORGE) LEMMEN
1865 Schaarbeek (Belgium) - 1916 Ukkel (Belgium)

George Lemmen lived and worked his whole life in Brussels. After the Academy of St Joost-ten-Node, he joined the innovative artist group Les XX. He was a thriving force behind pointillism and brought the work of Seurat and Signac to the attention of the general public. He was friends with Theo van Rysselberghe and Jan Toorop. Over time, his work became more intimate and nuanced. In addition to his painting, Lemmen engaged in typography and illustrations for various books and in the magazine L'Art Moderne, as well as various printing techniques. In 1894 he joined La Libre Esthetique the successor to Les XX and more focused on arts and crafts and Art Nouveau. At both of these groups, George Lemmen exhibited. At the turn of the century, however, he returned to painting with an intimate style in alignment with the Nabis Group to which Eduard Vuillard also belonged. Throughout his life, Lemmen continued to have progressive ideas both politically and artistically.