By profession a lawyer, Jean-Michel Cels was the son of the Belgian Neo-classical history painter and long-time director of the Académie de Tournai, Cornelis Cels (1778-1859). Cornelis no doubt introduced his son to oil sketching, which he had practised early in the 19th century during a seven-year stay in Italy. A number of drawings and oil sketches on paper by both Cornelis and Jean-Michel entered the art market in 1997. Besides these sketches, however, little is known about Jean-Michel's artistic activities.
Jean-Michel Cels
1819 - 1894
Paintings by Jean-Michel Cels
This small oil sketch on paper, mounted on canvas, shows a dense mass of trees in a deep ravine. At the bottom of the picture some pale pink flowering plants suggest that we are at the edge of a cliff looking across a gully that drops steeply below us. Including these flowers and the tall tree on...
Not on display