Charles van der Stappen
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Charles van der Stappen (Karl Van der Stappen) (September, 1843 - 1910), Belgian sculptor, was born in Brussels.
His first contribution to the Brussels Salon was "The Faun's Toilet" of 1869, and thereafter he began to produce work of a high and novel order in every class of sculpture, and soon, along with Paul de Vigne, became recognized as the leader of the section of the new Belgian school of sculpture which infused models derived from Greek and Roman models and the art of the Italian Renaissance with naturalistic detail and fleeting action.
Van der Stappen specialised in decorative sculptures such as those in the decoration on the Palais des Postes, Brussels (1872), as well as the pediment figure Orchestration for the Conservatoire de Musique, and the noble bronze group, The Teaching of Art, on the facade of the Palace of Fine Arts, Brussels. Among his other decorative work are the statues for the Alhambra Theatre and the caryatides for the house of the architect Louis de Curte (1874).
His best-known funeral monuments are those to "Alexandre Gendebien" (1874) and "Baron Coppens," at Sheel (1875). His statues include William the Silent, set up in the Square du Petit Sablon, and two in the Brussels Museum, The Man with the Sword, and "The Sphinx". The bronze group Ompdrailles was acquired by the Belgian government (1892).
In 1893 the sculptor began his collaboration with Constantin Meunier for the elaborate decoration of the botanical gardens of Brussels, and the result of the connection may be seen in the group The Builders of Cities which is strongly imbued with the feeling and types of Meunier's sympathetic figures of workers.
Charles van der Stappen had a number of pupils, among whom was Helene Zelezny-Scholz and Rik Wouters
See Charles van der Stappen, by Camille Lemonnier; Les Artistes belges contemporains, by E.L. de Taye; The Renaissance of Sculpture in Belgium, by OG Destrée (London, 1895).