page_title: Modest Huys
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Modest Huys / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: "Kermis te Kerselaere" by Modest Huys
context_page_description: Modest Huys was a Flemish impressionist and luminist painter.
context_section_description: In 1902, he debuted at the Sint-Lucasgilde in Kortrijk and began to exhibit more widely. He spent time in Meetjesland, painting landscapes. From 1905, he participated in the exhibitions of Vie et Lumière, a luminist group, along with Claus, James Ensor and Jenny Montigny.
  At the outbreak of World War I, he fled to the Netherlands, although he returned in 1915 and moved about as the war dictated. His home and studio were destroyed in 1918 and he ended up living with a forester near Brakel. After the armistice, he painted scenes of the devastation at the front, then settled in Wakken the following year.
  He again began to exhibit extensively, including shows at the Paris Salon and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. During this period, his colors became darker and the contrasts harsher, approaching expressionism. In 1926, he built his ideal home-studio, the "Zonnehuys" (Sun House), in Zulte. Several taverns in the area claim to have frescoes that he painted. A square in Olsene (a district of Zulte) was named after him in 1999.
caption: Fairground in Kerselaere (c.1912)
exif: {}