In the splendour of Impressionism?

The work of the painter Dominique Lang, who is today considered the most important representative of (late) Impressionism in Luxembourg, was honoured a few years ago on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death in a large show in his home town of Dudelange. Now, in another exhibition, Villa Vauban is focusing on his Impressionist work. Lang’s paintings are juxtaposed with some of his Luxembourg contemporaries and other Impressionist painters from the Greater Region (Arlon, Saarbrücken, Trier).

Lang, who came from a wealthy peasant family, initially painted in the style of the Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists, which met with rejection in the Luxembourg artistic milieu. After studying at the Antwerp academy (1895-1900) and spending time in Florence, Rome and Paris, he continued his education in 1906/07 at a private drawing school in Munich, where he became familiar not only with contemporary art movements but also with Impressionism and German open-air painting. After his return to Dudelange, the commercially rather unsuccessful artist opened a photo studio together with Umberto Cappelari and worked as a drawing teacher in Luxembourg and Esch-sur-Alzette from 1911. Also in 1911, he married Anne-Marie Ney, who would model for several of his paintings.

In his second creative period, from about 1909, Lang turned to Impressionism: the painterly gesture, the use of light and colour became more important than motif and subject. He painted numerous landscapes, mostly in the immediate surroundings of his home in southern Luxembourg (Dudelange, Schifflange, Bettemburg). Nevertheless, in his last pictures, which were painted in 1918/19, Lang returned to Symbolism, interpreting it in an Impressionist style. This change is also expressed in his last and unfinished painting Reconnaissance à la nature.

On the one hand, the exhibition draws on the holdings of Dominique Lang’s works in the art collection of the City of Luxembourg, which have grown considerably in recent years through donations and purchases, supplemented by loans from the Musée national d’archéologie, d’histoire et d’art, the cities of Dudelange and Bettembourg and private collectors. Thematically, visitors will find not only landscapes but also portraits of children, nudes, everyday scenes, portraits and character heads. In parallel, paintings by Lang’s contemporaries and artist friends, such as Camille Lambert or Frantz Seimetz, are shown. In addition, works by artists from the greater region (Arlon, Trier and Saarbrücken) illustrate the variations of the Impressionist painting style in a regional context. A small selection of works by French Impressionists from the Lille Palais des Beaux-Arts, including Félix Vallotton, places regional artistic creation in a wider context.