A fabulous townscape of a market day in Bruges, Belgium by Jacques François Carabain. The work shows a number of people moving to and from the busy market square as others stop and chat.

Jacques François Carabain (Jacob Frans Josef Carabain) was born on 23 February 1834 in Amsterdam to Jacob Carbin. He studied at the Amsterdam School of Art under Jacobus Schoemaker Doyer and Valentijn Bing (1812-1895). He began exhibiting in Holland and made his debut at the Amsterdam Exhibition of Living Masters in 1852.

Carabain married Helena Theodora Ricken on 2 August 1855 in Amsterdam. They lived in Amsterdam until around 1856 when they relocated to Belgium living in Brussels. He initially painted landscapes and seascapes but after travelling around Europe began specialising in townscapes, particularly those with Medieval and Baroque architecture.

Although he went back to Holland for a time during the late 1870's, he returned to Brussels where he became a naturalised Belgian in 1880, living in the Schaarbeek area. As well as exhibiting in Holland and Belgium, he also exhibited at the International Exhibitions in London, the Paris Salon from 1881 and the Victorian Academy of Arts in Melbourne. In 1894 he was commissioned by Mayor Charles Buls to paint a series of paintings depicting the old areas of Brussels before its redevelopment. He died on 2 January 1933 at Schaarbeek near Brussels.

His paintings are always highly detailed with accurately recorded buildings and are full of colour and life. Many of his works feature bustling streets and markets and usually include horses and carts and small dogs, such as this fine example.

Many of his paintings can be found in museums and galleries across the world including: Harvard Art Museum, Massachusetts; Hermitage Museum, Russia; Noordbrabants Museum, Netherlands; Manchester City Art Gallery; Rudolfinum Museum, Prague; V&A and Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia.

© Benton Fine Art