Constant Permeke. The English Years (1914-1919)

From October 1914 to April 1919, Constant Permeke lived in Great Britain. His contacts with the art world were minimal and took place chiefly through letters. He moved four times, always to small, remote villages. Yet this did not prevent him from experimenting boldly and continuing to seek innovation. He mainly painted large oil canvases, applying the paint thickly and roughly with brush and palette knife. The colour palette is exceptionally intense. Combined with the lively handling and unusual framing, this gives the paintings a unique character. In these years of isolation, the first shoots of a highly personal artistic path emerged, inspired by modernism and humanism. 
The exhibition presents an overview of the artistic evolution Permeke underwent during these five crucial years in his early career. It also includes work by other Belgian artists living in England during the First World War. 
Permeke’s artistic path was developing promisingly, but the war put a spanner in the works. In July 1914, Belgium ordered a general mobilization. Constant Permeke was called up as a soldier and in August took part in the defence of the Antwerp fortress belt. He was seriously wounded in the leg by shrapnel. For Permeke, the war was over. Before the fall of Antwerp on 9 October, all wounded soldiers were evacuated from Antwerp to Ostend, and from there to England. His heavily pregnant wife and his mother followed close behind. 
With the support of the Red Cross and fellow Belgian refugees – including the painter Jan De Clerck – the family was able to leave London at the end of the year. They were allotted a cottage in the small village of Stanton St Bernard in Wiltshire, where they were supported for a year by the villagers. In 1916, the Permekes moved further south to Chardstock, a tiny, conservative village of around 110 inhabitants in a hilly landscape on the border of Devon, Dorset, and Somerset. They lived in a small cottage called Dunsters, which they shared with another Belgian family from Ostend. 
An advertisement in the newspaper announced: “Flat to let – Cottage for nothing – Sidford.” A wonderful surprise for the Permekes, who, with their meagre income, were delighted to move straightaway into a free house by the sea. And so, in spring 1917, Permeke, together with his wife, his mother, and his two children, moved to the village of Sidford. The sweeping, undulating landscape inspired him to work on large formats, applying oil paint thickly and roughly with brush and palette knife. 
Permeke’s contacts with artistic life were largely limited to Belgian artists living nearby, such as Edgard Tytgat, Jan De Clerck, George Minne, Hippolyte Daeye, Léon De Smet, and Gustave Van de Woestijne – and even these were infrequent. He corresponded with Gustave De Smet and André De Ridder, both staying in the Netherlands, who kept him informed in their letters about the latest developments in Cubism and German Expressionism. Permeke himself was scarcely involved in British artistic life. He may have seen works by Whistler, Constable or Turner in London shortly after his discharge from hospital. It is possible that Hippolyte Daeye and Jan De Clerck briefly introduced him to London’s artistic scene at that time. But after his move to the countryside, that environment fell away completely. Gustave Van de Woestijne, Valerius De Saedeleer, and George Minne also settled far from bustling London, in Wales. 
 
Practical details 
Scope of exhibition: 30 to 35 artworks, 80% of which are by Constant Permeke and 20% by contemporaries.  
Dates: 9 May to 15 November 2026 
Entry prices 
Individual: 12 euros 
Group rate: 10 euros 
Young people under 26: 3 euros 
Under 12s: free of charge 
Audience engagement: room text, audio guide and visitor guide in NL, FR, ENG and DE.