Joseph Germain or Jozef Geefs (Antwerp, 23 December 1808 - Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 or Antwerp, 9 October 1885) was a Belgian sculptor. His brothers Guillaume Geefs

Guillaume Geefs

Guillaume Geefs , also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological subject matter, often with an erotic theme.-Life:Geefs was born at Antwerp, the eldest of six...

 and Jean Geefs were also sculptors.

Life

He studied at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

's École des beaux-arts

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts

The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...

, winning the Prix de Rome

Prix de Rome (Belgium)

The Belgian Prix de Rome is an award for young artists, created in 1832, following the example of the original French Prix de Rome. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp organised the prize until 1920, when the national government took over. The first prize is also sometimes called the Grand Prix...

 in 1836. In 1841 he became a lecturer in sculpture and anatomy at the Academy in Antwerp (his pupils included Bart van Hove and Jef Lambeaux

Jef Lambeaux

Jef Lambeaux was a Belgian sculptor born in Antwerp. He studied at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts, and was a pupil of Jean Geefs. His first work, War, was exhibited in 1871, and was followed by a long series of humorous groups, including Children dancing, Say Good Morning, The Lucky Number and;...

), rising to be its director in 1876. He was made an officer of the Order of Leopold in 1859.

Geefs married a daughter of the architect Lodewijk Roelandt and probably produced the portrait medallion on his gravestone. Geefs was buried in Berchem

Berchem

The 'Ring', Antwerp's circular motorway which follows the track of the former city defense walls, cuts Berchem in two parts, separating the urban inner city area of Oud-Berchem from the more residential and suburban areas Groenenhoek en Nieuw Kwartier .-Demography:Berchem's total surface is over ,...

.

Selected works

Antwerp

• Indian rider attacked by two jaguars (1869) and Hunter with booty, in Antwerp Zoo
  Antwerp Zoo
  Antwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located right next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.- History :...
  
  
• Equestrian statue of Leopold I of Belgium
  Leopold I of Belgium
  Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
  
   (1872)

Brussels

• Equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon
  Godfrey of Bouillon
  Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
  
  
• The Genius of Evil , Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten

Mechelen

• Stations of the cross (1867) and images (1867–1871) in Saints Peter and Paul Church

Heiligerlee

• Monument to Adolf van Nassau (1873), to a design by Johannes Hinderikus Egenberger

External links

• Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie