Malpertuus (the artist’s home in Blaricum)

Mediums: tempera, canvas.
Location: the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent (Belgium).

Van den Berghe lived for some time with Gustave de Smet in the village of Blaricum, not far from Amsterdam, in a house known in the Middle Ages as Malpertuus. This name became synonymous with hospitality – Gustave and his wife are sitting at a table that forms the center of a symmetrical composition, and various interior elements around form a geometric pattern. The colour is subordinate to this pattern, and carefully placed accents revitalize the gloomy evening atmosphere. The work illustrates the evolution of Berghe from early Impressionism to Constructive Expressionism; the influence of French Cubism is also reflected here.