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1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Lambeaux, Jef

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21952051911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 16 — Lambeaux, Jef

LAMBEAUX, JEF (Joseph Marie Thomas), (1852–1908), Belgian sculptor, was born at Antwerp. He studied at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts, and was a pupil of Jean Geefs. His first work, “War,” was exhibited in 1871, and was followed by a long series of humorous groups, including “Children dancing,” “Say ‘Good Morning,’” “The Lucky Number” and “An Accident” (1875). He then went to Paris, where he executed for the Belgian salons “The Beggar” and “The Blind Pauper,” and produced “The Kiss” (1881), generally regarded as his masterpiece. After visiting Italy, where he was much impressed by the works of Jean Bologne, he showed a strong predilection for effects of force and motion. Other notable works are his fountain at Antwerp (1886), “Robbing the Eagle’s Eyrie” (1890), “Drunkenness” (1893), “The Triumph of Woman,” “The Bitten Faun” (which created a great stir at the Exposition Universelle at Liége in 1905), and “The Human Passions,” a colossal marble bas-relief, elaborated from a sketch exhibited in 1889. Of his numerous busts may be mentioned those of Hendrik Conscience, and of Charles Bals, the burgomaster of Brussels. He died on the 6th of June 1908.