Forest clearing in the Ardennes

This painting by Milo Dardenne is on the side facade of La Glycine, the building that houses the tourist office and the cultural center. It was painted in 2021 on the occasion of its exhibition at the gallery La Glycine.

For years this artistic facade was just as artistic as the interior. In the beginning it was only a hotel-restaurant, but José Chaidron, with his patronage and the help of the writer Georges Bouillon, made it a high place of Art and Culture. Albert Raty, born in Bouillon in 1889, moved to Vresse very early. Deaf and dumb, he devoted his whole life to painting, sometimes dark, which gives a certain tragedy to the Ardennes landscapes. He died in Vresse in 1970. His bust is not far from Pont-Saint-Lambert.

Let's not forget the other painters who were emblematic of the School of Vresse: Marie Howet (1897-1984), winner of the Rome Prize in 1922, inspired by her travels in Greece, Ireland, Italy and, of course, our Ardennes; Johnny Schuddeboom with his imposing quasi-abstract compositions or Jacques Vander Elst who painted landscapes of Alsace, Brittany and of course the Ardennes with his knife or brushstrokes.

Although these four great figures have disappeared, their works, which accompany an extraordinary painting by Léon Frédéric, form the basis of the permanent exhibition in the new Interpretation Center of the School of Vresse. The Cultural Center and the Maison du Tourisme, located in La Glycine, also host temporary exhibitions of our contemporary painters every month. The spirit of La Glycine lives on!

Willem Vandenameele