Westcoast Fine Art has dated this piece to the 1940s.
Title: Portrait of a Lady Reclining ("Souvenir"), Karel Van Belle (1884-1958)
Period. Signed a dated 1944 (lower left)
Provenance: From a private UK collection
Overall size with the frame is 130 cm x 90 cm x 6 cm and the painting measured at 110 cm x 69 cm
The work appears to depict the aftermath of a romantic encounter, the flowers by her sofa a possible souvenir of the meeting. The evocative work is typical of Van Belle’s work and of his approach to the use of a vibrant colour palette.

This wonderful composition leaves the viewer contemplating the woman’s emotional state of mind as her faithful dog keeps her company. A wonderful composition by an extremely well collected 20th century artist.

Karel Van Belle (Charles Van Belle) was a Belgian painter born in Ghent in 1884 and died there in 1959. Training at the Ghent Academy under the direction of J. Van Biesbroeck, J. Delvin and L. Tytgadt. Honorable mention (third prize) at the Prix de Rome in 1913. Van Belle's Van work often featured women, including Madonnas, young girls, dancers, and Spanish beauties and frequently his portraits represented women in an almost mystical context.

Belle’s works range from portraits to historical and religious paintings and show the influence of the Symbolist movement in their vivid colours, narrative theme and often fantastical nature. His oeuvre centres mainly around paintings of women, such as the present work, and ranges from subjects dressed in contemporary fashion to the Madonna and Joan of Arc.

The painter produced several paintings of women reclining and the one being offered is one of the best that we've come across. It is in lovely original condition.
The record price for the artist at auction is 21,394 USD for Columbus sets foot in America, sold at Bernaerts Auctioneers in 2020.
Westcoast Fine Art has dated this piece to the 1940s.
Westcoast fine art ltd is a UK based dealer in fine classical works of art.
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