GEETS, Willem

Belgian painter. He began his artistic studies at the Academy in Mechelen. In 1854 he left Mechelen for Antwerp, where he attended the School of Fine Art for two years. His first teacher, Nicaise de Keyser, one of the first important romantic painters in Belgium, frowned upon natural studies and forced his pupil to work on lavish and antiquated local cloth. Baron Hendrick Leys, Geets’s next tutor, painted reconstructions of 16th century Antwerp and sought to convey the spirit of an earlier time. Leys distanced himself from the dramatic and seemed to herald a more sober style, an approach that more accurately reflected the national heritage. Geets developed the same preoccupation with the past, inherited a loyalty to 17th Dutch interiors and a love of the French Realists. Geets was also taught by Léon Cogniet (1794-1880) in Paris (1861-63).

In 1869, Geets was appointed Director of the Academy in Mechelen, an institution which has played a major role in the training of sculptors for Mechelen ornamental furniture. He remained in office until 1891. In 1886 he founded the Guild, an association for visual artists in Mechelen.

Willem Geets is best known for his historical paintings including scenes from the life of Charles V. The multifaceted artist also made cartoons for tapestries. He designed furniture, jewelry and ornamental chairs. He was also a competent portrait painter.