BUSTE ROMAIN DE VIDTS

BUSTE ROMAIN DE VIDTS (WERNER HEYNDRICKX)

Romain De Vidts (1890-1962)

Under the administration of this mayor, access to the center of Sint-Niklaas was made more accessible by the construction of the Park Avenue, and the park around the historic Walburg Castle, in 1987, was renamed “Romain De Vidts Park.

In a lawn stands a rather classic bust of this 'Romain De Vidts'.

The sculpture was commissioned by the city council and executed by fellow townsman Werner Heyndrickx, who is a master in creating realistic portraits. In doing so, he also knows how to render the character of the person portrayed excellently. The image gives us a visual representation of this important figure.

Romain De Vidts was very active in local politics already as an alderman in 1932 and as mayor of the city of Sint-Niklaas as of 1947 until his death in 1962. During WWII he was arrested by the occupying forces, but was able to escape and lived in hiding until liberation by Polish troops on Sept. 9, 1944.

In remembrance of that liberation, Romain De Vidts created the Liberation Festivities. The festivities continue every year during the first weekend of September, but now under the name Peace Festivities.

Romain de Vidts is depicted as a serious, perceptive yet thoughtful person, with an expression that reflects the heaviness of his work. The artist depicts a middle-aged man, with a detailed countenance and a degree of intensity in his gaze. His posture is powerful, indicating a certain authority and determination that perfectly aligns with the role he took on in the city.

The way the sculpture is designed emphasizes expression. Werner Heyndrickx is very demanding in the creation of his work.

Every detail has its value and its exact function in the whole. With this he not only captures the external features of someone, but also gives an impression of the inner features, the character of the person in question

The sculpture was cast in bronze , a material that contributes to a certain timelessness, giving permanence to the impact he had as mayor.

With thanks to Sandra Vancauwenberghe for the information

HEYNDRICKX Werner (1909 – 1986)

Werner Heyndrickx was a sculptor of portraits and figures. His father, Jozef Heyndrickx, was a stonemason. Education at the academies of Sint-Niklaas and Antwerp and at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp (studio of E. Wijnants). Teacher of sculpture at the Municipal Academy of Fine Arts in Sint-Niklaas and the Higher Institute in Antwerp

His workshop was situated near the Tereken cemetery in Sint-Niklaas. For bronze casting he always worked with Achiel Vindevogel in Zwijnaarde. He attached major attention to the patina of a statue.

Particularly in Werner Heyndrickx's early works one can still clearly sense the influence of his teachers Arthur Dupon and especially Ernest Wijnants: in the monumentality and in the  reduction of an image to a number of stylized surfaces . This rather synthesizing style is recognisable in the sculptures of the apostles he made for the church of ‘Kristus Koning’ in Sint-Niklaas. Even though heads, hands and feet have been executed with precision and detail, the vertical folds are stylised. The same approach can be seen in the sculptures ‘Contemplatie’ and ‘Familie’.

Werner Heyndrickx’s portraits exhale sharp observation. They are the result of a relentless search for an accurate resemblance and for the subject’s character.

He took part in many exhibitions in Belgium and abroad: Antwerp, Ghent, Liège, Namur, Paris, Prague and Bratislava. Prizes : the 'Godecharle Prize', the 'Van Lerius Prize', the 'Doutrolon de Try Prize' and the 'Prize of the Province of East Flanders for Sculpture'.

Kunst in de Stad displays some fifteen works by this sculptor.

Kunst in de Stad, april 24^th 2010