"If Luck is a lady, then it is hardly surprising that she favoured Alfred Stevens."
"A Duchess (The Blue Dress)" by Alfred Stevens
Alfred Emile Leopold Victor Ghislain Stevens was born in Brussels on May 11, 1823. He was the son of Jean Francois Stevens and his wife Catherine-Victoire, proprietors of the Cafe de l'Amitie. His father died at just forty-six leaving behind four sons. Alfred's older brother, Joseph, became a successful animal painter, best known for his dogs. His younger brother, Arthur, was destined to be an important art critic, dealer, agent and curator of the collection of the Belgian King, Leopold II.
The Stevens family was exceptionally close-knit and remained in touch and supported one another throughout their lives. This is particularly true of Alfred and Arthur as witnessed by their voluminous surviving correspondences. Of course, in this period people thought nothing of writing daily or writing more than one letter to the same person on the same day, with three or even more daily deliveries by the postal service!
Our understanding of the early years of Alfred Stevens is incomplete. What we know for certain is that he was a student at the Bruxelles Academy under the tutelage of Navez, a faithful disciple of David during his exile in Brussels. He underwent a thorough, traditional training, with the emphasis strictly on drawing - so much so that oil painting was forbidden to students.
Nonetheless, in the absence of his teacher, Alfred got hold of palette and brush and painted an ideal head in oils. Navez returned and demanded to know 'the artist' who flouted the studio rules. The culprit was marched off by Navez to see his grandfather. With teenage Alfred standing before his grandfather, Navez exclaimed, 'You have there a fine painter!'
This oft quoted event tells us, right at the onset, that Stevens understood the need to study and to train hand and eye in the mastery of the technique of draughtsmanship and painting. Forty year later, he would publish his thoughts on art in a book, including his thought that 'You can only be a great painter if you are a master craftsman.'"
To be continued
(Excerpts from "Alfred Stevens" by Peter Mitchell.)
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