Cirque – Henry Roland

ROLAND, Henry (1919-2000)
Circus
Oil on canvas
Signée en bas à droite: Henry Roland
35.5x46cm – 14×18″

Henry Roland was a Belgian artist born in 1919 in Brussels and died in 2000 in Mauritius. He was a painter. From an early age he already showed an artistic talent so that he enrolls at the St-Lucas academy at the age of 18. Initially he trained as a sculptor, but colors tempted him to such an extent that he was irresistibly attracted to painting. It was not a bad choice at all, because sculpture encouraged him to understand the relief and the dimension of the figures in space. During the post-war years he settled in Belgian-Congo, the Belgian colony in Africa, near Lake Tanganyika. For almost 15 years he runs a cotton transport company and continues to paint as a hobby. His stay in Africa will give him the opportunity to shower his palette with sun and color and to revise all his conceptions about light. The wild and colorful landscape is certainly one of the reasons for Roland’s ever-preferred preference for a somewhat wild play of colors. During this period he also meets Ernest Hemingway. During a 5-day stay with the Roland family, the writer was so impressed by Henry’s works that he nicknamed the left-handed painter “The Man with the Golden Left Hand”. As a result of the riots that broke out in Belgian-Congo, Henry and his family returned to Belgium in 1960, where he established his studio. From this moment on he devoted himself entirely to his painting. Enriched with experience, sensitivity and color richness, Henry collects awards and exhibits his works in different countries around the world. The artist died in January 2000 during a leave in Mauritius. (website of the artist)