Maurits Van Saene was born in Ninove in Belgium in 1919. After debating whether to study architecture or art, he eventually chose to dedicate his life to artistic creation, training first at the Sint-Lukas Institute in Pamel under Brother Emiel from 1935 to 1940, then the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and finally at the Institute National des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1940 to 1942. He continued his training in J. Brusselmans’ workshop in Brussels from 1944 to 1946, all while teaching drawing and painting at the Leuven Academy of Applied Arts. The following year, he went on a study trip to the Academia Belgica de Rome. He taught drawing at Saint-Lucas in Brussels between 1952 and 1984.
Initially, Van Saene predominantly painted still lifes, figures and nudes in the continuation of the great expressionist masters. However, he progressively transitioned towards landscape subjects and increasingly embraced abstraction.
The year 1965 marked an artistic turning point for Van Saene, in which the artist fell for the charm of the North Sea. From that point on, the subject and its distinctive palette took over his corpus. The result was abstract compositions structured around horizontal lines of varying thickness mimicking the elusive border between sky and sea. The colours play a paramount role in capturing the evolving colours of the Belgian coast, which range from deep browns to green-tinted blues. Each painting conveys a sense of spatial endlessness that truly embodies the landscape experience they depict.
Van Saene continued to exhibit until the end of his life. Exhibitions of his work included: The Squaring of the Original, Minderer Museum, Minden (1989); Painters of the Sea, Saint Audomarus Church, Beauvoorde (1989); Sail Art ‘90, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam (1990); 100 Artworks by Flemish Artists, Museum A. Blomme & ter Posterie, Roeselare (1991); Retrospective, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle (1991); Cultural Centre, Leuven (1993); Herman Teirlinck House, Beersel (1995); Confrontation from Ensor to Landuyt, from Knopff to Somville, Knokke-Heist (1996); Small Paintings by Great Masters, from Ensor over Claus to Heden, Cultural Centre Anto Diez, Bredene (1997); Aspects of Flemish Art Today, Gallery Koertina van de Neva, Saint Petersburg (1998); International Graphics on Ensor, Cultural Center Anto Diez, Bredene (1999).
Van Saene passed away in 2000. A foundation in his honour has since been founded in Ninove.
