Beings / Floating figures

Collection Mr Van Regenmortel, Meudon. He purchased the painting directly from the artist in 1932.

Frits Van den Berghe (1883-1939) is among the most influential Belgian artists of the interwar period. His versatile oeuvre, which ranges from his academic work, Luminism and Expressionism to Surrealism, testifies to a continuous search for the expression of the human psyche. This quest culminates in the 1932 painting Beings (also known as Floating Figures), which focuses on existential themes such as alienation, spiritual exaltation and the complex dynamics between man and woman.

Around 1930, the conflict relationship between man and woman took centre stage in Van den Berghe's oeuvre. Whereas his friend Gustave De Smet often depicted harmonious marital cohabitation, Van den Berghe focused on the subcutaneous tensions between the sexes. In Beings, this duality is unmistakably present. The central figures - a nude man and woman - hover above an abstractly rendered city. The man, petite and with his knees drawn up, appears to float in a kneeling position. With closed eyes and an outstretched arm, he points the woman to something outside the picture plane, as if to guide her to an unknown destination. The woman, robust and almost Permekian in stature, follows his gesture with her gaze, but her massive body radiates doubt and resistance. Her head is depicted in profile, while her torso is painted frontally, emphasising her inner conflict.

The strength of Beings lies in its complex composition and the play of tensions between the figures. To the left of the central pair is a stoutly built man dressed in a white monk's habit. Although he is positioned lower in the picture plane, he too follows the lead of the hovering man, his face full of astonishment and devotion. On the right, by contrast, stands an enigmatic figure, cloaked in an earth-coloured robe. His gaze deviates from the other characters and rather addresses the viewer. This figure, with a weathered and expressive face, breaks the internal dynamics of the scene and introduces a new tension: is he a witness, an outsider or an alter ego of the artist? The earthy tones - ochre, brown, grey and deep red - reinforce the work's raw character. Van den Berghe applied a pasty painting technique, applying thick layers of paint and then partially scraping or wiping them off. This gives the surface a grainy texture and emphasises the transience of the depicted figures. 

Beings raises existential questions about leadership, spirituality and human relationships. The gesticulating man seems to assume the role of a spiritual guide, a Christ-like figure, although he bears no stigmas. The composition suggests a resurrection, but ambiguity remains: is this a moment of enlightenment or, on the contrary, of alienation? The woman seems caught between her earthly instincts and the call to transcendence. The monk embodies devotion, while the enigmatic figure on the right represents a more critical or sceptical presence.

This layering of meanings is characteristic of Van den Berghe's work from the early 1930s. Unlike his earlier expressionist canvases, where strength and colour predominated, here he seeks a deeper psychological charge. His figures are no longer mere bearers of emotion, but complex symbols of the human condition.

Frits Van den Berghe has earned his place in international art history with works such as Beings. His ability to combine expressionist intensity with surrealist alienation makes his oeuvre unique. The influence of European avant-garde movements resonates in Beings, but the work retains a distinctly personal signature. The theme of alienation and existential struggle places him in the lineage of artists such as James Ensor and Edvard Munch, while his plastic experiments are akin to the work of Oskar Kokoschka and George Grosz. Beings is not just a painting; it is a visual essay on human drives, spiritual quest and social isolation. It remains a powerful and intriguing work of art to this day, aptly depicting the complexity of Van den Berghe's vision of man.

 

- 1999, Ostend, PMMK, Retrospectieve Frits Van den Berghe, 16.10.1999-13.02.2000, cat.no. 139.

- Baronian, J.-B., Dictionnaire amoureux de la Belgique (Paris: Editions Plon, 2015).
- Boyens, P., Laethem-Saint-Martin L'Art du Symbolisme à l'Expressionisme (Tielt: Lannoo, 1992), p. 528 (ill.).
- Boyens, P., Frits Van den Berghe: catalogue raisonné (Gent: SD&Z, 1999), p. 318-319, 461, no. 762 (ill.).
- Boyens, P. & G. Marquenie, Retrospectieve Frits Van den Berghe, exh. cat. (Ostende: PMMK, 1999), p. 168-169, no. 139 (ill.).