Self-portrait of the artist in his studio attire

Antoine Joseph Wiertz was a Belgian painter, sculptor, lithographer and art writer. He is known for his religious, historical, allegorical works, and portraits. An eccentric figure, he was originally much influenced by the works of Peter Paul Rubens and Michelangelo. Some of his works are erotic and macabre and presage Belgian symbolism. While snubbed by contemporary art critics, he enjoyed the support of the new Belgian state, which, in return for his paintings, assisted him in building his personal studio and home in Brussels, where the artist worked on his art and writings as a recluse.

Dinant, Belgium