Laying in the grass, a mother has a close word with her child in this backlit Springtime portrait. taken outdoors.

Charles Gaspar: Belgian, 1871-1950

The following historical chronology of the photographer appears courtesy of the Directory of Belgian Photographers hosted online by Fotomuseum Antwerp. (FOMU)

Life dates

Arlon, 1871 – Arlon, 1950

Activity

Sometimes wrongly transcribed “Gaspard”. Pioneering pictorialist and prolific exhibitor. Still lifes, portraits, and genre studies. Autochromes and platinum printing or pseudo-platinum, i.e. matte silver-chloride paper with platinum toning. Affiliated to the Brussels section of the ABP. Member of the “Cercle d’art photographique l’Effort”, as mentioned in the exhibition catalogue for the “Photo-Club de Paris” salon of 1906. Numerous images published in photography magazines in Belgium and abroad. Still a member of the ABP in 1922. Member of the “Institut Archéologique du Luxembourg” in 1925. Active in local charitable initiatives.

Gaspar left his town mansion and contents to the town of Arlon, where the “Musée Gaspar” houses his photographic collection, including 360 vintage prints and notebooks. There are also substantial holdings of original prints in the “Musée de la Photographie” in Charleroi and the Photography Museum in Antwerp. The “Musée Gaspar” also possesses an ensemble of 42 exhibition medals and plaques awarded to the photographer, the largest extant collection in Belgium.