| Biography of Victor Creten (1878-1966) |
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In 1893, Victor Creten entered the Academie de Beaux-Arts in Brussels to study architecture. After finishing his studies, he took his first step in his prolific and diverse career as architect, painter, posterist and academic.
In 1903, he was named professor at Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Ecole Normale des Arts of Design. In 1921 a taught courses at the Ecole Bischoffsheim in Brussels. In addition to teaching, he designed a number of buildings which included both private and public projects. These included civil buildings, schools, apartment houses, factories, private residences, country estates, and more.
He was equally accomplished as a painter, preferring landscapes, seascapes and still-lifes. He designed the occasional poster and twice placed first in open competition; first in 1905 and again in 1906. As early as 1907, his poster designs appear to anticipate the Art Deco style which was officially announced in 1925. Though he only produced a few posters, Victor Creten's contribution to the evolution of the Belgium poster is significant.
References:
'La Belle Epoque' Belgium Posters from the collection of L. Wittamer-de Camps, Introduction and Catalogue Notes by Yolande Oostens-Wittamer, 1970
'L'Affiche en Belgique 1880-1980' Musee de l'Affiche, 1975 |
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