Jakob Smits (1855-1928): 'Malvina', oil on canvas and panel, signed, 1888-1899

Dim.: 44,5 x 52,5 cm (the frame)
Dim.: 26,8 x 34,5 cm (the work)

Provenance: 
- An important private collection from Antwerp, Belgium. 
- Acquired from gallery 'De Vuyst', Lokeren, Belgium and with several of their labels to their back. 
- Exhibited at Museum Albert Van Dyck, Schilde, Belgium during the Jakob Smits exhibition 10 March - 6 May 2001, and with a label to the back. 
- Exhibited at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium during a tribute exhibition in 1928, the year of Smits' death. This tribute exhibition is one of the first exhibitions organised by the then new Palais des Beaux-Arts, that opened its doors the same year. Remnants of an exhition label can be found in the top left corner of the back. 

Historical ownership as stated on the back of the painting in chronological order: 
- Emiel Van Hoof, Antwerp. Emiel Van Hoof was the brother of the Belgian late-romantic composer Jef Van Hoof, who was portraited by Jakob Smits. 
- A. Lesseliers, Kieldrecht. 
- Jan Hoogsteyns, Paal. 

Malvina was Jakob Smits’ second wife and one of his most important muses. The couple married in 1888 despite strong opposition from her family, and settled in a modest farmhouse in Mol-Achterbos, later known as Het Malvinahof. Life there was marked by poverty but also by Smits’ artistic breakthrough: Malvina appears in a number of his most intimate and symbolic works from the 1890s, a period in which his style shifted from impressionism to poetic symbolism. Their story ended tragically when both their young daughter Alice and Malvina died in the winter of 1899, closing the most personal chapter of Smits’ career. (Source: Jakob Smits Museum)

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