Museum Gust De Smet

Gust De Smet (1877-1943)

Village Sunshine
Gust De Smet - Dorpszonnetje (Sint-Martens-Latem)

Gustaaf De Smetlaan 1, Sint-Martens-Latem

Historic house museums focus on the human aspect. You explore the private life of the absent artist and get to know them better thanks to the artworks that are still in situ. Gust De Smet, one of the painters of the river Leie (Lys) lived and worked in this picturesque house museum. Together with Gevaert-Minne, it is one of the few remaining. Discover the atmosphere of a glorious past.

Gust De Smet - Dorpszonnetje (Sint-Martens-Latem)

Gust De Smet Museum

The artist's former home, where he lived and worked for a time (1935-1943), now houses this museum. The house, together with a hundred works of art by the expressionist Gust De Smet, was left to the municipality of Deurle in his will and was opened to the public in 1950. He came to Deurle around 1929 to seek inspiration from its immediate rural surroundings. The museum includes a fully furnished living room, studio and bedroom. The walls are adorned with a selection of 100 artworks, mostly small canvases and drawings left behind when the painter died. Visiting this house you enter a world that provides a different view of the artist's life and work. 

Village Sunshine

Gust De Smet’s subjects include farmers and fishermen, the village, the countryside, popular entertainment and working class women. However, there is no particular social sentiment here, but rather a being in awe of the sometimes difficult peasant existence. In Village Sunshine, the artist focuses on a young woman in the foreground staring ahead with wide eyes. Her head is slightly turned which introduces a degree of movement in an otherwise static landscape with a wheat field, cubist houses and a setting sun. As is often the case with the artist, her absent dreamy gaze invokes a sense of melancholy.

Practical information

Address

Gustaaf De Smetlaan 1
9831 Sint-Martens-Latem
Belgium
View directions

Opening hours

  • From Friday to Sunday

  • From 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Annual closure: January 1 to February 15, 1-31 July.

Accessibility

  • Limited access for people with disabilities.

Good to know

  • Admission: free.

Other sites nearby

Gustave van de Woestyne - De papeter (Museum Gevaert-Minne Sint-Martens-Latem)
In addition to some artworks and documents by Edgar Gevaert, the museum mainly displays artwork from the classical period of Sint-Martens-Latem.
Grafmonument - George Minne
Explore Saint Martin’s Church, located in an idyllic landscape along the scenic river Leie. Take inspiration from Gustave van de Woestyne and George Minne.
Sint-Michielskerk Gent (interieur)
The Gothic church exhibits a remarkable unity of style, which is also reflected in the interior. It is a haven of peace within the city centre of Ghent.