Domestic Bliss and Excruciating Pain. The Life and Art of Rik Wouters

Rik Wouters (1882-1916) died of cancer at the age of thirty-four. Though the pain of his tumour sometimes drove this Flemish painter/sculptor to the edge of insanity, his suffering is scarcely noticeable in his mostly cheerful work. The bright colours of his best paintings are a tribute to his domestic happiness with his wife Nel. One of the mysteries wh surrounds Wouters' work is just how he succeeded in depicting this carefree picture of domestic happiness while from 1913 on his headaches were becoming more and more unbearable.