Waiting

André De Ridder, Antwerp
Léo Vandeghinste, Boitsfort
De Brock, Knokke

The year 1925 can be seen as the year of transition and renewal for Belgian artist Frits Van den Berghe: key figure in modern Belgian art history. This period led to his unique artistic vision, at a crossroads of expressionism, symbolism and emerging surrealism. His work from the period around 1925 is a leading example of how an artist can renew himself while remaining true to his own artistic voice.

The masterpiece The Waiting, also titled The Expectation, shows an intimate moment between two characters, in a stylised and monumental composition. The figures, massive and simplified, seem entangled in a psychological game of tension and introspection. The subtle details in the starry sky and figures in the background suggest a dreamlike atmosphere, indicating Van den Berghe's growing interest in surrealist themes.

The modernist canvas is an autonomous relic of Van den Berghe's intention to shape a grand composition into a synthesis as a reminder of the Leie region. This monumental canvas was to be called The Painters' Life but was never executed. However, a few canvases remain, such as The Bathers, The Fisherman and The Expectation; the latter is exceptional on the art market and on show during BRAFA 2025.

1926, Antwerp, Koninklijke Kunst- en Letterenkring, De werken van de schilder Frits Van den Berghe (ingericht door Sélection), 21.03-2.04, no. 5.
1927, Brussels, Galerie Le Centaure, Fritz Van den Berghe - peintures, 2.04-13.04.
1953, Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Art belge contmporain - Les maitres de l'Expressionnisme flamand, 20.06-13.09, no. 63.
1954-55, Eindhoven, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Drie Vlaamse Expressionisten - Permeke, Van den Berghe & G. De Smet, 11.12.1954-16.01.1955, no. 25.

Haesaerts, P., Sint-Martens-Latem. Gezegend oord aan de Leie (Antwerpen: Mercatorfonds, 1965), no. 661 (ill.).
Langui, E., Frits Van den Berghe. Catalogue raisonné de son oeuvre peint (Bruxelles: Laconti, 1966), no. 171 (ill.)
Langui, E., Firts Van den Berghe 1883-1939 (Antwerpen: Mercatorfonds, 1968), no. 171, p. 306.
Boyens, P., Frits Van den Berghe. Oeuvrecatalogus (Gent: SDZ & Pandora, 1999), 406, no. 371 (ill.).