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Henri Leys, Hendrik Leys or Jan August Hendrik, Baron Leys (18 Feb. 1815 – 26 Aug. 1869); Belgian painter and printmaker. He was a leading representative of the historical or Romantic school in Belgian art and became a pioneer of the Realist movement in Belgium. His history and genre paintings and portraits earned him a European-wide reputation and his style was influential on artists in and outside Belgium.
...Leys gained a considerable reputation at home and abroad and worked for an international clientele from Germany, France, England and Russia. He was made a knight in the French Legion of Honour and was awarded the Order of St. Michael by the king of Bavaria. Leys won a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Paris in 1855 for his historical painting The Mass of Berthal de Haze (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels)....
...Leys had a number of pupils. Among these the best-known internationally is Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema who assisted Leys with the murals in the Antwerp Town Hall. Another well-known pupil was his nephew Henri De Braekeleer. Other pupils were Thomas Simon Cool, Charles Napier Hemy, Willem Linnig the Elder, Petrus Marius Molijn, Hendrik Albert van Trigt and Alexis Van Hamme.
...Leys was a gifted portrait painter as shown by his self-portrait, and the portraits of his wife and daughter and of his fellow artists such as the portrait of the architect Alphonse Balat.
Leys influenced many young Belgian artists. Some, such as Joseph Lies, Franz Vinck and Karel Ooms followed his work very closely. Leys' work also exerted a strong influence on his compatriots Jean Pierre François Lamorinière and Victor Lagye. James Tissot was influenced by Leys in his early work. Other artists such as Henri De Braekeleer and Jan Stobbaerts were able to transform Leys' teachings in a new and original language.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_August_Hendrik_Leys) undefined