Emile Van Dorenmuseum

House of Landscape and Art

Zicht op de Molenvijver van Joseph Coosemans (detail)

Emile Van Dorenmuseum

Henri Decleenestraat 21, Genk

Genk used to be a true painter's village. At the end of the 19th century the most prominent Belgian landscape painters and landscape painters from far beyond descended on Genk to capture the desolate landscape. You can still discover these special locations today.

Genk Emile van Doren De Bloei van de gagel

Emile Van Dorenmuseum

The Emile Van Dorenmuseum is based in villa Le Coin Perdu, the former home and studio of the landscape painter Emile Van Doren. The house was designed by the architect Adrien Blomme. The original furniture, ornaments and numerous paintings have been preserved within their original context. The Emile Van Doren Museum is a living museum, not only looking back to the past but also developing current and contemporary activities.

Flowering Sweet Gale - Emile Van Doren (1865-1949)

Born in 1865, Emile Van Doren grew up in Brussels, not far from the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Ter-Kapellekerk (Church of Our Lady of the Chapel). He first beheld the beauty of the Kempen landscape in 1890, following a visit to Genk, which was favoured by artists because of its particularly picturesque landscape. Van Doren even maintained that Genk was made for painting, a statement that would define the rest of his life. He moved to Genk where he met his wife, Cidonie Raikem. Totally fascinated by the beautiful landscape, it is always the focal point of his oeuvre. The Flowering Sweet Gale also came about because of this. The rich colour palette combined with the distinct painting technique, shows the agility of the elements.

Genk Herman Richir Portret van Emile van Doren

Emile Van Dorenmuseum

Portrait of Emile Van Doren - Herman Richir (1866-1942)

Herman Richir’s refined portrait art can also be admired in the Emile Van Doren Museum. Two of his portraits are on display in the villa Le Coin Perdu, including the portrait of Emile Van Doren. It is no coincidence that this is part of the Emile Van Doren Museum as they were good friends. Richir often visited the family in Genk and stayed there to paint the Kempen landscape. Yet his focus was primarily on painting portraits, still lifes, genre pieces, nudes and decorative items.

Portrait of Cidonie Raikem - Herman Richir (1866-1942)

Cidonie Raikem was an innkeeper in the Statiestraat in Genk. In 1898 she married Emile Van Doren and together they converted the inn into a Hôtel des Artistes (Artists’ Hotel), which was a meeting place where creativity was given free rein. Artists, writers and tourists came from near and far to stay there.

Emile Van Dorenmuseum

View of the mill pond - Joseph Coosemans

This painting by Joseph Coosemans shows the marshy landscape around the Molenvijver (mill pond) in 1891. The Kempen village of Genk and the often painted spire of Saint Martin's church are visible in the background. Just a stone’s throw from the museum, you can still recognize the location today.

Emile Van Dorenmuseum