Red Hair in Art: Théo van Rysselberghe

Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe (1862 - 1926) was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century.

He discovered the pointillist technique when he saw Georges Seurat's La Grande Jatte at the eighth impressionist exhibition in Paris in 1886. He immediatly abandoned realism and became an adept of pointillism.

After 1903, his pointillist technique, which he had used for so many years, became more relaxed and after 1910 he abandoned it completely. His strokes had become longer and he used more often vivid colours and more intense contrasts, or softened hues.

From 1905 on, the female nude becomes prominent in his monumental paintings. His painting The vines in October (1912) is painted in lively colours of red, green and blue. One of his last works was Girl in a bath tub (1925).

At the end of his life, he also turned to portrait sculpture, such as the Head of André Gide.

His daughter Elizabeth became one of Rupert Brooke's lovers.

Bathing Women (detail)

Bust of a Woman

Sitting Nude

Four Bathers

Bathing Women

Reclining Woman with Red Hair

Exhibition poster for La Libre Esthétique

Torse de blonde

Scarlett Ribbon