Joos Vincent de Vos

Joos Vincent de Vos (1829-1875) was a Belgian artist who specialized in paintings of animals.

Vincent de Vos was born in Kortrijk, Belgium in 1829 to father Jan Eugene Vos a miller, and mother Marie Anne Verhaeghe. He studied at the Kortrijk Academy under religious artist Philip De White, and Edward Woutermaetens, also a painter of animals. At the academy, his early works won medals for composition in 1848, antique images in 1849, anatomy in 1851, and the gold metal for perspective in 1852.^[1]

In 1870 he spent time in Roman Campagna, Italy. But, eventually he settled down in his home town of Kortrijk, where he set up his studio, which most described a small zoo. He kept dogs, wolves, foxes, monkeys and even a camel. Small sized painting of oil on panel was the majority of his works.^[1]

His work was successful commercially, and was exhibited primarily in Belgium and France.^[2][3]

He died in Kortrijk on 5 October 1875.^[2]

Works

Some of his paintings are in the collection of the Broelmuseum in Kortrijk.^[4] Animals, particularly monkeys and dogs, were frequent subjects of his work. He often depicted animals in circus costume.^[2] The paintings typically are small in size,^[2] and dates, titles and signatures often are hidden as box labels or in posters depicted in the work.^[5]

Titles and topics of his works include:

• Circus monkey and Dog^[6]
• At the market^[6]
• Le repos apes la chasse^[6]
• A Blenheim and a Tricolour King Charles Spaniel on a Persian^[6]
• Two Dogs by the doghouse^[7]
• At Play^[8]
• Best Friends^[9]
• A terrier smoking a pipe^[10]
• "Dog Meets Mice", 1865
• "De barakspelers" ("The Shack Players"), in the collection of the Broelmuseum.^[3]

References