Group of African women, 1954
The Work
- Title: Group of African women
- Artist: Floris Jespers
- Date: 1954
- Technique: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 145 x 255 cm
In Essence
This monumental painting is a key work from Floris Jespers' renowned Congolese period . Selected by the artist himself to be exhibited at the world's fair, Expo '58, this work is a powerful artistic synthesis of his modernist style. At the same time, due to its public role, it is a complex and layered document that embodies the dialogue about art and colonial representation.
A Deeper Look
The Scene: A Monumental Collective
The painting depicts a dense, interwoven group of stylised African women. The space is flat and the composition central, causing the figures to merge into a powerful, almost sculptural block. The warm, earthy colour palette is broken by a bright turquoise accent, while thick, black, structural lines construct the forms. The faces are rendered as anonymous, expressive silhouettes, which places the focus on the group as a whole.
The Symbols: Strength and Community
This work illustrates the thematic evolution in Jespers' oeuvre. The intimate, personal woman from the early "Portrait of Olympe" has evolved here into a universal, collective symbol. Stylistically, it is a masterful synthesis: the cubist structure he developed in the 1920s is merged here with an expressionist energy and a formal language directly inspired by African art.
A Rediscovered Masterpiece
Major Exhibitions
- 1958: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles (Expo '58), Brussels
- 2004-2005: Retrospective Floris Jespers, PMMK, Ostend.
- 2015: Floris Jespers Kongo - Knocke, CC Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist.
Published in
- Buyck, J. (2004). Floris Jespers. Antwerp: Pandora.
- Vanwijnsberghe, S. (2015). Floris Jespers Afrikanist: Kongo-Knocke. Grand-Halleux: Stijn Vanwijnsberghe.
- The representative value of the work was underscored by the publication of a postcard, which was distributed during Expo '58.