Latemse School

Latem School

The Latem School arose in Belgium in the first half of the 20th century. There are two artist groups that were successively active around Ghent. Both groups had a deep admiration for nature and an anti-academic climate. For two generations they were extremely important for art in Flanders.

The first group, also called the "mystics", were active between 1898 and 1901. This group consisted of students from the Academy of Ghent who wanted to oppose impressionism. They worked in the style of realism. They moved in the direction of so-called urban symbolism. Their inspiration came from the work of the Flemish Primitives and Brueghel. A colony arose, which came to be known as the first Latem School.

The second Latem School arose around 1905. It consisted of expressionists and had a major influence on the development of the later modernist movements in Belgium.

According to some critics, a third and fourth school can also be identified. However, these artists were less grouped.